I knew when I saw this flower next to a creek behind my cabin it was something awesome... it has a presence that would have made Georgia O'Keeffe swoon with sexy flower delight! After some investigating, like asking peeps on facebook and calling friends to describe my find - " it's a pink flower on a tall stem that looks super sexual, almost like a guy's nutsack") I soon found out this was a rare endangered orchid, native to the Appalachian mountains & surrounding states. Coooool! I have found a Pink Lady's Slipper (also known as the "moccasin flower", cause somebody thought it looked like a shoe because they couldn't admit what it really looks like)!
"The plant has two wide basal leaves that stay horizontal and a single stalk growing to about a foot high bearing the pink flower. Transplanting from the wild is strongly discouraged because of the rarity of the plant and the almost nil chances of success. New plants are difficult to start because of the need for symbiotic fungi in supping nutrients to the seed. It takes years for the new plant to develop leaves for supplying its own energy. " - briartech.comIn other words... LOOK but do NOT touch this pretty flower! Even if ya like to normally touch things that look similar to this. ;)
XoxoxoXXX
