I was thrilled earlier this month to spot a dozen or so Pink Lady’s Slippers (Cypripedium acaule) as I exploring a creek in Prince William County, Virginia. Most of them were growing individually, but there were a few small clusters of these beautiful native orchids.
I have seen these flowers several times in previous years, so I had a general idea of where to look for them, but when I set out on the hike to search for them, I was not certain that my timing was right—it was a bit earlier than I had seen them in past years. I had to walk for several miles to get to this location and initially I could not find any lady’s slippers. Eventually I spotted a single one and was really happy. All of the sudden I started seeing them in multiple spots and was able to capture a variety of images.
I am fascinated by the shape of these flowers and my first instinct was to move in close and capture macro shots to highlight the details of the flower by isolating it from the background, as you can see in the first three images. When it came to groupings of flowers, though, the background could not be eliminated. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because I was “forced” to show the environment in which I found the flowers—I have a tendency to forget to take these kinds of shots in my zeal to zoom in. As it turns out, the last image is one of my favorites, though I must admit that the first image in my absolute favorite of these photos.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Great set of images Mike. One of these days I just might chance upon these flowers in the woods. And this will do for now…
Thanks, John. My understanding is that they are fairly widespread geographically, but require very specific habitats to grow.
Absolutely exquisite photos, Michael. I’m impressed that you walked so far in pursuit and then found them. Lady slippers in the wild are so very special, and here you found a bonanza, and when the flowers were at their peak.
Thanks, Jet. I am going on a church retreat next weekend in the mountains and hope to find some more lady’s slippers–I saw them there last spring at about the same time. When I am trekking about in search of dragonflies, especially early in the spring, I’ll regularly walk multiple miles to get to my target locations at certain mountain streams. On this day, it was cloudy and cool, so the dragonflies were not cooperating and I decided to try my luck with the lady’s slippers.
Lovely flowers! I haven’t had the fortune of seeing them in person so thank you for sharing!
Thanks. I remember seeing my first lady’s slippers at an orchid exhibition at a botanical garden and fell in love with them. It is so cool to be able to find some in the wild.
Awesome orchids and how lucky you found them ! I once found a other Cypripedium species in the Austrian Alps. They are not common where I live in Belgium.
Thanks, Rudi. As I understand it, there need to be specific conditions for these kinds of flowers to grow. It’s always cool to travel to other locations where the animals, plants, and insects may be different than the local ones we get used to seeing.
As for many orchids, they are very picky concerning conditions to grow. In most cases they also depend on the presence of fungi. The one I found was the (in German:) “Gelbe Frauenschuh” (Cypripedium calceolus)
There some links (in German)
https://www.bund-naturschutz.de/pflanzen-in-bayern/gelber-frauenschuh-orchidee
https://www.tirol.at/blog/b-krimskrams/frauenschuh-orchideen-bluete-im-lechtal-die-groessten-vorkommen-in-europa
These are gorgeous flowers and thrilling to find! I consider it a gift when I find either these are Trillium’s in the woods. I like the first one best too, Mike, though the groups are most lovely.
Beautiful !!!!
Great series, Mike! Love the details on the macro shots and good to see the cluster.
They are all excellent, but I like the last one best. The grouping of the plants and their look together seems almost comical.
Where I grew up, on the shores of Lake Winnipeg in Canada, there was a patch of these that bloomed each spring. My sisters and I knew the approximate time this would happen and went there each day waiting for them to pop out. We knew never to pick them, just enjoy them at their home. 😊
Thanks so much, Louella, for sharing part of your personal history. I love hearing stories like this.
Simply stunning, Mike! I have only seen single Pink Lady’s Slippers at Native Plant Trust’s Garden in the Woods in Framingham, MA. Thank you for this and all the other beauty you share with us!
Your photos are stunning, Mike! I would agree with your two favorites, but they all are beautiful. So fortunate for your followers that you kept looking!
Thanks so much for your very kind words. One of the “secrets” to my most successful photographs is that I am unusually patient and persistent, traits that are especially important in nature and wildlife photography, when so many variables are out of my control (unlike studio photography).
Patience and persistence are invaluable for sure!