Minnesota State Flower
Lady's Slipper (common name) Cypripedium reginae (scientific name) Overview In 1893, Cypripedium calceolus, a wild lady’s slipper found in Europe and Asia, became the Minnesota state wildflower. A Minneapolis-based ladies’ study circle pointed out that legislators had chosen the wrong flower and the media took up the story, embarrassing politicians. The error was corrected in 1902. The lady’s slipper is also New Hampshire’s state wildflower. The flower is actually a type of orchid that grows in temperate climates. It is difficult to grow and has probably always been a relatively rare plant, but reduced habitat has made it even harder to find in recent years. It needs both light and damp to grow, and prefers moist areas especially tamarack and spruce bogs that receive partial sun.  Lady's slipper can also be found in swamps and other damp, partly sunny areas. The plants tend to grow very slowly, and can take up to 16 years to flower. When they do flower, it’s usually around midsummer. Petals are pink and white, a large, curving pouch-like petal striped pink. Above it is one narrower, white, slightly curving petal between two even narrower white petals that extend out on each side of the flower. It’s usual to see one or two flowers on each stem, though it is possible to see three or four sometimes. The stems are hairy, as are the oval leaves. Mature plants have many stems with three to five leaves per stem. The plants are long-lived, and can grow for 50 years, occasionally up to 4 feet (1.25 m) tall. In the right conditions, these plants can live for a century. Close-up STATUS Official PHYSICAL DETAILS Duration: Perennial Plant: 3–5 long, narrow, leaves and 1–2 flowers per upright, hairy stalk Mature Height: 1–3 ft (.3–1 m) Flowering: June–July Flowers: .75–1.5 in (2–4 cm) long and .4–2 in (1–5 cm) wide Flower Color: magenta-pink and white Leaves: 4–10 in (10-25 cm) long and 1.5–6.25 in (4–16 cm) wide hairy, upright, pointed ovals Fruit/Seed Color: dusty brown HABITAT Location: Moist woodlands, boggy or marshy areas, swamps Range: From Maine west to northestern North Dakota, southwards as far as northern New Jersey and northeastern Missouri. Also in Northern Arkansas, West Virginia, western Virginia, and eastern Kentucky and Tennessee. TRIVIA Contact with the hairs on the lady’s slipper’s stems and leaves can cause skin rash or irritation.
	Click to enlarge an image Pink and White Lady's Slipper Patch of Pink and White Lady's Slippers Close-up of Pink and White Lady's Slipper Flower CLASSIFICATION Kingdom: Plantae Subkingdom: Tracheobionta Superdivision: Spermatophyta Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Subclass: Liliidae Order: Orchidales Family: Orchidaceae Subfamily: Cypripedioideae Genus: Cypripedium Species: C. reginae
	Author: World Trade Press