Cypripedium calceolus

Probably one of the most beautiful and well-known orchids in European flora, the lady’s slipper – as it is commonly known – is extremely rare in Italy, occurring only at a few highly localised sites in the Alps and in Abruzzo. Given its rarity and the indiscriminate harvesting to which it has been subjected, it is protected by international laws and conventions. 

It has erect, finely hairy stems, and ovate-lanceolate leaves with a sharp tip and prominent veins. The unmistakable flowers have brownish-purple tepals and sepals, which are elongated and spreading; the upper one, which is oval, curves forwards; the yellow labellum, which is urn-shaped and swollen like a slipper, often acts as a trap for pollinating insects, as they can only exit through the basal openings and are therefore forced to crawl against the reproductive organs, thus becoming coated in oily pollen. 

Like all orchids, C. calceolus is also capable of producing new plants, genetically identical to the parent plant, through vegetative propagation, that is, the division of the plant’s underground organs (rhizomes). Reproduction through the germination of the tiny seeds, on the other hand, is much more ‘complicated’; this occurs only thanks to the presence of specific microfungi that penetrate the seed, providing it with the nutrients needed to germinate (mycorrhizal symbiosis).