2021Europa - Endangered National Wildlife (The Lady's Slipper) - Sheetlets

The lady’s slipper (Cypripedium calceolus) is the orchid with the largest flower in Estonia and Europe. The flowers measure up to 10 cm and are shaped like shoes. Blooms from late May until early July. The lady’s slipper is pollinated by insects, the faint vanilla scent of the flowers attracts small insects. However, the flower is a trap for pollinators because the only way out of the shoe-shaped labellum is by climbing past the anthers and stigma. The plant reproduces both by seeds and vegetatively by rhizome. Usually grows on wooden meadows, forest edges and in thinner spruce and mixed forests.