Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium Reginae)   Lady's Slipper is the state flower of Minnesota and the state wildflower of New Hampshire. Buy state flowers

Cypripedium Reginae, the Pink and White Lady's Slipper or Showy Lady's Slipper, is one of Minnesota's rarest wildflowers. It is a member of the Orchid Family. They grow slowly, taking 4 to 16 years to produce their first flower. The orchid lives in a special relationship with soil fungi (Rhizoctonia), which helps the seeds germinate and grow. The fungus nourishes the seedling for 2 or 3 years before the plant has leaves large enough to sustain itself by photosynthesis. Because of this special relationship, it is virtually impossible to transplant this wildflower into your garden. Please leave it in the wild. It is illegal to even pick a blossom of the Lady Slipper. Lady's Slipper plants can take years to mature. Sometimes they live for 50 years and grow four feet tall, but the average life span is about 20 years. They bloom in late June or early July. In 1893 a state resolution mistakenly designated the wild Lady Slipper or Moccasin Flower, Cypripedium Calceolus, which does not actually grow in Minnesota, as the state flower. In 1902 a resolution corrected part of the previous misnomer, replacing Cypripedium Calceolus with Cypripedium Reginae, but neglected to remove the term Moccasin Flower, which designates a different, though related, flower. In 1991, the Pink Lady's Slipper, Cypripedium acaule, was designated as the official state wildflower of New Hampshire. The plant is native to New Hampshire and grows in the moist wooded areas of the state. In the language of flowers, Lady's Slipper means "Capricious Beauty". ********

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