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Cypripedium acule
Pink Lady Slippers are rare and delicate wild orchids found in Eastern USA. They require bees to pollinate them and a special fungi from the genus Rhizoctonia to provide them with nutrients while they begin to grow. Because of this special symbiotic relationship they are nearly impossible to successfully transplant and should be left in the wild, although their chances of survival are slim.
I found these Lady Slippers on the side of a moist hill with ferns near them. They were heavily shaded by the deciduous trees above them.
I found TWELVE of these delicate flowers in a rather small area.
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