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Lady’s slipper

 

 

The most beautiful European orchid has started flowering in Tallinn, at the Nõmme-Harku health path between 8 and 9 kilometres, at the roadside on the long straight stretch alongside the trench. In nature it is worthwhile to look for habitats in wooded meadows and fresn broad-leaved forests.

 

Nature friends know the characteristic lady’s slipper flower; the leaves of the plant remind a little of the lily-of-the-valley but are a little sturdier. There are one to two flowers, rarely three, on the stalk that has short hairs. The plant reaches flowering age only after 10-15 years. The flower can be pollinated only by a few bee species and only a fourth of the flowers set seed as a rule.

 

THE ORCHID SPECIES WITH THE LARGEST FLOWERS IN EUROPE IS STRICTLY PROTECTED BY LAW EVERYWHERE.