Yellow Lady's-Slipper

Cypripedium calceolus

The yellow lady's-slipper comes in three varieties, of which only two occur in Minnesota. In theory, the large variety (var. pubescens) has a large lip with brown-and-green-streaked petals spiralling out to the sides, while the small (var. parviflorum) has a small lip with petals and sepals of a uniform dark red. In practice, the lip size ranges overlap, the colors vary, and the varieties intergrade. This can make it hard to assign an individual flower to a variety, especially up north in Roseau County, where Small and Large Yellows grow right next to each other.

At least it's easy to identify the species: it's the only lady's-slipper in Minnesota with a yellow lip. It's not as flashy as the Showy Lady's-Slipper, but I find its combination of colors quite appealing. More than any other Minnesota lady's-slipper, it has a humanoid look -- the side petals are like red-brown braids, while the lip, at certain angles, suggests a sallow face. The unopened flower looks like someone with long hair soaked by an unexpected downpour.

Yellow lady's-slippers are pollinated by bees. The spider in the photo at right bottom is of a type that sits on flowers waiting to catch pollinators as they arrive. But I watched that spider for about ten minutes and never saw it approach the pollinia, or anywhere else a pollinator would likely be. Perhaps it was confused by the peculiar anatomy of lady's-slippers.

Where: Occupies a variety of habitats in Minnesota, from Big Woods forest in the southeast to roadside ditches in the north. Nationally, it has the largest range of any lady's-slipper, including most of the eastern U.S. and both eastern and western Canada.

When: late May - early July.

next: Showy Lady's-Slipper (Cypripedium reginae)
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