The lady's slipper is one of Europe's most beautiful wild orchid species and is therefore protected throughout Europe under FFH Directive Appendix II (FFH code: 1902). It is the largest native orchid.

Picking this rare flower is strictly prohibited!

Appearance
The lady's slipper is an orchid with greenish to yellow flowers. Flowering specimens of this orchid grow 30 to 70 cm tall. It grows in the woods in loose clusters of three to five plants. It takes several years for a plant capable of flowering to grow from a seed.

Range
This species is distributed in Europe and Asia. It colonizes open deciduous and conifer forests, bushes and edges of forests on calcareous loam, clay and bare soils. In Austria, the lady's slipper is found at altitudes of ca. 200 to ca. 2000 m above sea level.

Reproduction/biology
Reproduction is almost exclusively by seeds. The plant blooms in May and June, the fruits ripen in three to four months, and then the above-ground plant parts die. It takes several years for a plant capable of flowering to develop.

Endangerment
The species is endangered by picking and transplanting in particular. The primary cause of the decline of the species, however, is habitat loss.

• Other orchid species in the region:
• White Helleborine - Cephalanthera damasonium
• Red Helleborine - Cephalanthera rubra
• Spotted Orchid - Dactylorhiza maculata

Seven plant species documented in the Tauglgries (lady's slipper, spotted orchid, February daphne, twayblade, white helleborine, red helleborine) are completely protected under section 2 of the Salzburg Plant Protection Law (Salzburger Pflanzenschutzverordnung).

Download: Salzburg Plant Protection Law (German Version)