312 Yellow to Orange Flowers 



In the dry sun-warmed forests, where the birds trill their 

 sweet antiphons and the smooth surface of the pools reflects 

 with steadfast truth the cone-laden branches of fir and pine 

 and the fleecy clouds that float across the azure sky, — there, 

 unafraid, rejoicing in its weird, almost unearthly beauty, the 

 Large Yellow Lady's Slipper flaunts its gaudy flowers. 



At the first sight of these exquisite orchids, which also 

 grow on the open arid moraines close to the glaciers, you 

 catch your breath, and a thrill runs through all your veins ; 

 there they stand, golden-bright, surrounded by a halo of 

 romance and mystery. 



There is little need to describe this Cypripedium, for its 

 showy inflated sac, flanked by long spiral petals and purplish- 

 green sepals, distinguishes it at once, even to the unprac- 

 tised eye. The leaves of the Large Yellow Lady's Slipper 

 grow alternately on the slender hairy stems, and are large, 

 long-shaped, pointed, many-nerved, and plaited. The name 

 Cypripedium is derived from the Greek, and means Venus's 

 sock or buskin. 



Cypripedium parvifiorum, or Small Yellow Lady's Slip- 

 per, much resembles the preceding species, but may be easily 

 distinguished by means of its smaller flowers, the inflated 

 sacs of which are of a much deeper, richer shade of yellow, 

 and are often marked with reddish-purple spots and lines, 

 and also by its wider oval-shaped leaves and thicker stems. 



In July, that exquisite month which lies within the very 

 heart of summer, should you wander amid the mountains 

 when dawn trumpets forth the glittering rise of day, then 

 pause beside some sluggish alpine stream, which lies coiled 

 in sleepy curves, for there, far removed from the haunts of 

 men, you may be fortunate enough to find the fragrant little 

 Cypripedium parviHorum. 



