Cypripedium passerinum (Sparrow's egg lady's-slipper orchid) almost open

(That's my chubby index finger for scale...)

This area is a wonderful river walk in western Alberta, Canada. We saw orchids, other wildflowers, and one carnivorous plant species on the field trip associated with the Native Orchid Conference symposium. One of the orchids we saw is Cypripedium passerinum (Sparrow's egg lady's-slipper orchid).

The first place we stopped had orchids in bud, but not open. This river trail showed us only closed orchid buds, but after we waited a couple of hours (plenty of other things to see), the flowers were finally open. This was a new species for me to photograph, so I was excited to finally see the flower open.

The flower is quite small, but up close, it is quite beautiful with a pure white lip and petals and reddish purple spots just inside the opening of the lip. It does not reach the lower lattitutes of most of the U.S. but can be found in a few of the northernmost states.