Yellow Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens)

Photographic Location: Great Smoky Mountains

Judy and I just got back from a trip to the Smokies. LOTS of wildflowers blooming. This one I was especially happy to find. I had found it once before but the flower was past its prime. 

With its yellow "moccasin" and slightly curled brown sepals, this orchid has a scattered distribution in the Smokies. Growing on moist, rich slopes from 900 to 3,000 feet, it reaches a height of 12 to 18 inches. It blooms in May. If the pouch is less than 1 inch long, it is the small yellow lady's-slipper (var. parviflorum). A relative, the pink lady's-slipper, is locally more abundant but still rare. These species are also known as MOCCASIN FLOWER.

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