← Browse All Wildflowers / Small White Lady’s-slipper
sip-rih-PEE-dee-um KAN-dih-dum · pronunciation guide: sourced genus, constructed epithet [5]
A prairie orchid with a glossy white slipper, twisting greenish petals, and a story that starts beneath the soil.
DSCN3105 · The white pouch and twisted side petals. Tap the photo to enlarge.
Other common names
White Lady’s Slipper · White Moccasin-flower.
Look in open, moist grasslands. A calcareous fen is a wetland supplied by mineral-rich groundwater.
Open the range map to explore photographed sightings and their locations.
01 · White slipper
A small, glossy pouch, about ¾–1 inch long, sometimes with faint purple markings.
02 · Twisted petals
Narrow greenish-brown side petals curl away from the flower.
03 · Veined leaves
Several alternate, parallel-veined leaves clasp the stem. Usually one flower tops each stem; occasionally two. [1]
The pouch is the flower’s modified lower petal, called the labellum. Its shiny white surface can hide purple stripes inside. [2]
Several kinds of bees pollinate this orchid. Getting out of the pouch brings suitable visitors into contact with the flower’s pollen-bearing parts. One reported experiment recorded a bee taking up to 15 minutes to escape. [2]
Its tiny seeds need particular soil fungi to germinate and obtain nutrition. A healthy orchid habitat includes living relationships beneath the surface. [3]
That is one reason photographing a wild plant in place is better than trying to move it.
A plant can take as long as 16 years to flower. Established plants may also spend a season dormant underground, making a patch difficult to count from a single visit. [3]
Watch your footing around orchids and keep their habitat intact.
Explore 25 field photographs, from flower and leaf details to wider views of the prairie habitat. Select any photo to enlarge it.
Small White Lady’s-slipper can hybridize with Yellow Lady’s-slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum). Their hybrid is known as C. × andrewsii. [2]
Hybrids may have white, cream, or yellow flowers and a mixture of traits. Check flower size, petals, leaves, and habitat together; color alone cannot rule out hybrid ancestry. [1]
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Native to southern Canada and the north-central and eastern United States, including Wisconsin and Illinois. [4]
Explore reported sightings on the observation map.
Observations show reported sightings; they do not define the plant’s complete native range.
Study the glossy white pouch, twisted petals, and clasping leaves—then practice recognizing prairie and wetland wildflowers in the quiz.
[1] Minnesota Wildflowers — identification, common names, habitat & flowering
[2] Go Orchids · North American Orchid Conservation Center — flower structure, pollinators & hybrids
[3] Environment and Climate Change Canada — height, seed fungi, maturity & dormancy
[4] Kew · Plants of the World Online — accepted name & native range
[5] NC State Extension — Cypripedium genus pronunciation