Pink Lady's Slippers

Pink lady slipper orchids are blooming in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Click to enlarge. 

I made my annual pilgrimage this week to see them, but arrived a few days early. They were up but not yet proudly displaying their pink pouches. 

Just cute, green, baby lady slippers. I went back later in the week...

And look at them now! The pink lady slipper is a lovely wild orchid native to the Eastern United States and among the earliest blooming NJ Pine Barres orchids. 

 They take a long time to grow from seed to flower and require special conditions that include a relationship with soil fungus. Once established, they bloom yearly and may live for 20 years.