Pink Lady’s Slipper.Cypripedium acaule.Whip-poor-will.
Found in the woods, frequently under evergreens, though sometimes in deciduous shade, during May.
The slender flower-stem, from 8 to 12 inches in height, is bent like a shepherd’s crook, and bears on the curve a small, pointed, green leaf. It is hairy, and light green.
There are 2 root-leaves, large (from 5 to 7 inches long), oval, with a pointed tip, and a much clasping base; the ribs are parallel, and prominent, the margin is entire, the texture is loose, and somewhat coarse, and the surface is hairy. Color, green.
The lip of the flower is shaped like a large, hollow bag, slightly puckered on its infolded margin; the other petals are long, narrow, and twist, or curl, on either side of the bag; the calyx-parts are apparently only 2 (though botanists consider the lower is composed of two parts grown together),—they are placed above, and below the bag. The petal-like pistil is pink; the bag—of a loose texture—is a crude crimson-pink, inclining to violet, veined by many darker lines; the other parts of the flower—of a thin texture and hairy—are colored a dull reddish-brown, tinted with purple. The single flower hangs from the end of the stem.
In some localities pure white forms are frequently found, and sometimes a single stem will bear two blossoms placed back to back. A rank odor is observable, if the plant is rudely handled.