Mountain ladies in full bloom

The "Goddess foot of the mountain" flowers are found throughout the area in spring and summer. They have been admired for their beauty and collected for centuries.

Cypripedium montanum perennial flowers are commonly known as a type of lady's slipper plant which is part of the orchid family. Known as the Slipper orchids, these native orchids can be found in a variety of habitats including grassy meadows, small openings, tucked under conifer trees, in cool damp glades and even prairies.

There are 11 known types of lady's slipper orchids in Montana.

The meaning behind the name Cypri pedium montanum comes from the Greek word Cypris which is another name for Aphrodite, the Greek Mythological Goddess of love and beauty. Pedium means foot and Montanum is Latin for mountain which refers to the habitat of the orchid.

The orchids are long-lived and survive from a relationship with soil fungi. The life span begins with germination, which can take years.

The seeds lie dormant because they do not have built in food, or an endosperm. Germination begins when an orchid root fungus, or mycorrhiza, dissolves the seed coating exposing it to soil nutrients needed for growth.

The plants need more than six specific types of fungi to use as food. The orchids then produce their own food from the fungi and decay, making them autotrophic.

In appearance the stems are tall, green and slender ranging from 8 to 28 inches. The delicate flower parts at the top are anywhere from 1.2 to 2.8 inches with the slipper pouch .8 to 1.2 inches long. Petal parts can be twisted and wavy while the whole flower coloration varies from browns, pinks, cream, yellow and white.

After flowering occurs, pollination can happen from small bees in this outcrosser plant. Outcrossing is when pollen from different plants in the same species cause pollination. Division of the rhizome, or roots, is cause for asexual reproduction.

The dust-like multitude of seeds are waterproof and can float, and can be spread on water, wind or herbivore manure.

The Lewis and Clark expedition was the first to document mountain lady's slipper orchid in western North America in 1806. In Michael Wilson's 2007 Medicinal Plant Fact Sheet, lady's slipper orchids are used medicinally in the Old World. Wilson wrote the root was formerly used in North America both by indigenous and immigrant peoples for its sedative and antispasmodic properties and to counter insomnia and nervous tension.

According to the US Forest Service, most mountain lady's slipper orchid populations are very small and can easily be decimated. Transplanted wild plants rarely survive which may be from the change in habitat or damage to roots and leaves.