Pink Lady's Slipper, Pink Moccasin Flower (Orchid)

Description:

12 in. Colony-forming, leafless stalk bears solitary flower with prominent pouch. Flower's distinctive inflated lip petal 2 1/2 in. long, pink with red weins (occasionally pure white), deeply creased; sepals and side petals greenish brown, spreading. Leaves 7 in. oval, ribbed, dark above, silvery hairy underneath; basal, paired. Does not transplant. Blooms May-June

Habitat:

Woods, especially under pines; bogs, rocky areas.

Notes:

Spotted in the Bangor City Forest, with dog help from Rowena, my border collie. I love these flowers. It is one of three of my long-awaited spring flowers I look forward to seeing every year. I see them and know life is going along as it should. Source: National Audubon Society- Field Guide to New England (by Peter Alden & Brian Cassie)