I was really excited yesterday to spot some Pink Lady’s Slippers (Cypripedium acaule), a type of wild orchid, while exploring in Prince William County, Virginia. I was hunting for dragonflies adjacent to a hiking trail when two young ladies with a large dog came walking in my direction. I moved further back into the vegetation to increase our distance. One of the young ladies, noticing my camera, asked me if I was interested in photographing some “rare kind of orchids” and gave me some rather general directions for a place a couple of miles down the trail.
I have been to orchid shows before, so I had a general idea that the hikers were talking about lady’s slippers when they described the flowers, but I did not really know what they looked like in the wild. So I set off down the trail and eventually found three small clusters of Pink Lady’s Slippers. The midday sunlight was harsh, but I managed to find some angles from which the light was mostly diffused. I included the final shot to give you an idea of what the whole flower looks like when it is growing.
After doing some research, I learned that the Pink Lady’s Slippers, also known as “moccasin flowers,” are actually not “rare.” This flower is found in many places in the eastern third of the United States and in all Canadian provinces except for British Columbia. Whether the lady’s slipper is rare or not, I was happy to have the chance to see and photograph this fascinating flower, which somehow reminds me of a human heart.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Thank you and I AM SO JEALOUS!! We hike and hunt these in the Smoky mountain. Alas, not this year. 😦 We keep looking for them on our hike here in Ohio, but have not discovered any yet. Good for you!!
Thanks, Molly. I was blessed to have a bit of help in finding these, though I must say I was surprised that they were visible from the trail. Of course, I was looking for them and knew they were there somewhere, which helps a lot.
Ohhhhhh! I am so jealous! I want so badly to find some around here. Lovely photos, Mike. Can hardly go wrong with a subject like PLS’s! ☺️
Blue Rock Horses Frederick County, Virginia bluerockhorses.com
Thanks. It was amazing to find these, the first ones that I have seen in the wild. When I started to photograph them, I figured that quite a few people would share my excitement.
They are very special, Mike. Thank you for sharing them. They may be the only ones I see this year.
They are pretty. Looks like you got a good tip, Mike.
It is always interesting to see how people react when I am out with my camera. I tend to keep the lens hood on my macro lens, which makes it look impressively large and people often ask about it. Quite often people are friendly and tell me of things that they have seen that they think I might be interested in photographing. Still, it is kind of serendipitous that two female hikers would mention the flowers to a guy they encounter in the middle of nowhere and almost equally unlikely that I was able to find them. They are not large and impressive and I am pretty sure I would not have noticed the lady’s slippers if I had not been looking for them.
I always think of Mick Jagger when I see these … Great shots, Mike!
Thanks. Mick Jagger? Are you referring to the similarity to the lips and tongue of the Rolling Stones logo? 🙂
These can be found in east Texas, but I’d have to spend more time there to find them, I suspect. I’m fairly sure it’s too late for this spring, but maybe next year. Lucky you to have such a find, and lucky us that you share delights like this.
Beautiful flowers photographed beautifully!
Very nice, Mike.
They would be “rare” to me and would love to fine them in the wild!
Nice images Mike! Enjoyed seeing them!
One of my favorites! Did you know that this is the state flower of Minnesota? I featured them in a post a few years back: https://krikitarts.wordpress.com/2015/03/29/serenity-sunday-slipping-back/
Wow. You have a really fancy one in Minnesota, Gary. I really like the semi-hidden grasshopper in your photo. I noted that you mentioned one of my postings in that posting and I followed the link you provided and then followed a link suggested by WordPress. I ended up at a posting I did of green-and-yellow Lady’s Slipper that included an image of one with a white background, courtesy of a piece of white cardboard. I guess I was just repeating old trick with my recent posting of irises. https://michaelqpowell.com/2013/02/24/ladys-slipper-orchid/
It’s a beautiful flower that was rare in this area at one time. Mostly because people were digging them up.
I missed seeing those in the park this spring. Lovely.
There was a patch of pink lady’s slippers that grew near our house along the shores of Lake Winnipeg in Canada (the Canadian Shield region of Manitoba). They came every spring. As kids we knew the time they would be coming and each day we would walk through the forest to check. We were so thrilled when they bloomed and we never picked them, wanting to make sure they would return the next year. Thanks for sharing😊
Lovely. I will keep an eye out for these. I am trying to improve my ability to identify wildflowers. I just got a nice app (Maryland Wildflowers) which seems easier to use than another one I tried (mywildflowers, I think, or some such thing). This morning it helped me identify Erigeron pulchellus, aka Robin’s plantain or poor robin fleabane. 🙂