A leafy plant with few stems in a clump, and near the top 1-3 white and dull purple bilaterally symmetrical flowers. Flowers dull purple, 1.3-3 in (3.1-7.5 cm) long. Leaves 2-6 in (5-15 cm) long, ovate. Height: 8-28 in (20-70 cm).
Dry or moist, open or lightly shaded, brushy or wooded valleys and slopes.
Alaska to northern California, northern Idaho, and northwestern Wyoming.
The plants of the genus Cypripedium have glandular hairs on the leaves and stems that can cause a rash, similar to poison ivy rash, upon contact.
