Yellow Lady's Slipper

Cypripedium calceolus

Family Orchidaceae

Brief Description: Stands 1-2 feet tall. Leaves somewhat sheathing, oval to lance ovate in shape; 2.5-8 inches. Sepals and lateral petals are greenish-yellow to purplish-brown. The lip is yellow, usually veined with purple; 1-2 inches wide.

Blooms from May to July. (Early May in CT)

Geographic Range: Circumboreal, south in America to South Carolina, Louisiana, and New Mexico.

Habitat: Mesic woods or moist or wet low places

Historic Uses: This is one of the few circumboreal orchids; it has been used as a sedative and antispasmodic.