Mountain Lady’s Slippers

Seldom do I go out looking for a particular flower, but after an outing yesterday it occurred to me that the Lady’s Slippers should be starting to bloom and so today I drove to a place where I usually see them and, happily, they are in peak bloom. I’m glad that I didn’t miss it! They are one of the prettiest of the wild orchids native to this region.

Mountain Lady’s Slipper ~ cypripedium montanum

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Today’s new arrivals

Mountain Lady’s Slipper ~ Cypripedium montanum ~ Wild Orchid

Redosier Dogwood ~ Cornus sericea

Small-flowered Penstemon ~ Penstemon procerus

Mountain lady’s slipper

This species of this small orchid is native only to 6 western states, Alaska and western Canada..

Wildflowers in the rain

Pointedtip Mariposa Lily, Three-spot Mariposa Lily, Baker’s Mariposa ~ Calochortus apiculatus

Woolly Groundsel ~ Packera cana

Poison Larkspur ~ Delphinium trolliifolium

Yellow Salsify, Meadow Goatsbeard ~ Tragopogon dubius

Howell’s Pussytoes ~ Antennaria howellii

Choke Cherry ~ Prunus Virginiana

Mountain Lady’s Slipper ~ Cypripedium montanum

Antelope Bitterbrush, Antelope-brush ~ Purshia tridentata

Rydberg’s Penstemon ~ Penstemon rydbergii

Starry False Lily-of-the-valley, Star-flowered Solomon’s-seal ~ Maianthemum stellatum

Smallflower Miterwort, Side-flowered Mitrewort, Cross-shaped Mitrewort ~ Ozomelis stauropetala

Feathery False Lily-of-the-valley, Plumed Solomon’s Seal, Plumed Spikenard ~ Maianthemum racemosum

The thing about photographing wildflowers is that you have to be there when they are blooming, which means lots and lots of trips into the woods, the meadows, the trails and along the streams – sunshine or rain. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!

Mountain Lady’s slipper

Mountain Lady’s slipper, Cypripedium montanum

Mountain Lady’s Slipper

This member of the Orchid family is always a real treat to discover in the back country. It is near extinction in many areas and rare in others. Acting on a tip from a friend, I made a short trip into the Weeksville Creek area in the Cabinet Mountains today and found several dozen of them in bloom. Previously I had only seen them ten miles away, in the Coeur D’Alene mountains.

Mountain Lady’s slipper, Cypripedium montanum