Showy Lady's Slipper

Showy Lady's Slipper is the most spectacular of North American native orchids and the state flower of Minnesota, bearing large white flowers with a pink to magenta-streaked pouch. The tallest of the native lady's slippers, reaching 3 feet in height with multiple flowers per stem, it grows in calcareous bogs, fens, and wet forests across the northeastern United States and Canada. It is considered rare and is protected in most states due to habitat loss and illegal collection. The glandular hairs on its stem can cause skin irritation similar to poison ivy in sensitive individuals.