This showy member of the Orchid family has large, magenta-colored flowers blooming between late April to May in Ohio, where it's listed as rare. It's found in a variety of habitats in southern and eastern US, including rocky/mossy slopes and semi-open spots with humusy, well-drained soils. It does best in dry, acidic soils. It grows 6 to 10 inches tall with a pair of thick, prominently veined leaves framing a single, flowerless stalk topped with a puffy, pink flower lightly streaked with purple. The flower contains a slit that allows its primary pollinators--bumble bees--to enter and do their work. Charles Darwin wrote about this particular pollination in his seminal work, On the Origin of Species.
 
Works well as a container plant as well as in woodlands and areas with protection from afternoon sun.
 
Plant Characteristics:
Grows 4-10" tall.
 
Prefers part shade to dappled sun.
 
Prefers humusy, dry to moist, acidic, well-drained soils.
 
Wildlife Value:
Lady's slippers are "food-deceivers," as they offer no nectar reward, instead tricking pollinators into helping them reproduce. Bees are lured into the pouch by bright colors and fragrance, get trapped, and must exit through a specific route that rubs pollen onto them, ensuring cross-pollination.
 
Edible, Medicinal and Other Uses:
Traditionally used by Native Americans as nervines and sedatives for anxiety, insomnia, and spasms, and by common-day herbalists for pain, stress, and menstrual issues.
 
Caution: Though this is the most common species of lady's slippers found growing in Ohio, they are endangered and rare, so harvesting is strongly discouraged.
 
Resources:
ODNR
https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/plants-trees/flowering-plants/pink-ladys-slipper
 
USDA Forest Service
https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/cypripedium_acaule.shtml