Showy Lady's-slipper (Cypripedium reginae)

On Father's Day weekend, we always take a ride to the bog in the hopes we will find the 

Showy Lady's-slipper.

The plant has become increasingly rare due to over collecting and habitat reduction, so each year we hope and pray that we will find the "lady" at the bog. It has a tall, leafy stem that bears 1-2 white-petaled flowers with a brilliant pink pouch, blooming in late June and into July. It is found in constantly moist habitats, including cedar swamps and cedar glades. It prefers a pH near neutral and some sunlight. 

The Sacred Slipper

Ojibway Legend tells of the great courage of a girl, who saves her people from illness. The girl knows she must journey to the next village, to get the healing herb mash-ki-ki for her people, who have all fallen ill.
After lining her moccasins with rabbit fur, she braves a raging snowstorm and crosses a dark frozen lake, to reach the village. Then, rather than waiting for morning, she sets out for home, while the villagers sleep; determined to help her people. During her trek through the snow, she loses her moccasins and her bare feet are cut by icy shards; bleeding with every step, until she reached her home.
The next Spring, beautiful Lady’s Slippers bloom from the place where her moccasins were lost, and from every spot her injured feet touched.
This is the story of how the Lady’s Slipper came to be…