Moccasin Flowers on the Gunflint Trail

These beautiful flowers can be found in abundance in the woods of the Gunflint Trail. It’s always a treat to spot these very close relatives of the Minnesota Sate Wildflower.

Cypripedium acaule – Pink Ladyslipper, Moccasin Flower . This member of the orchid family has a solitary blossom on a hairy stem arising from two or sometimes three elliptical glossy, dark green, ribbed, hairy basal leaves. The “acaule” species epithet refers to the fact that there are no stem leaves – all other Ladyslipper species have stem – cauline – leaves.

Cypripedium reginae- The Showy Lady’s-slipper, also known as the Pink-and-white Lady’s-slipper or the Queen’s Lady’s-slipper, is a rare, terrestrial, temperate, lady’s-slipper orchid native to northern North America.