Cypripedium calceolus

Quick Characteristics:

Cypripedium calceolus L. is native to the European Alps, and is the largest flowered orchid species in Europe. In Italy they grow wild at an altitude of 1000/1800 meters, and are difficult to find as they are rare and even if protected by Cites, many specimens are lost, as the woods are now abandoned and lawns near the woods have plenty of invasive grasses. The first picture is of a plant in the ground in full shade, the second from a flower in a pot. Height range: 25-60 cm. Photos 1,2 from Giorgio Pozzi, third photo taken by Oron Peri in its habitat in the Spanish Pyrenees.