You might remember that, when I posted my Pink Lady Slipper shots from Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge last week, I mentioned that I hoped to see a White Lady Slipper when I visited the Wild Gardens of Acadia at Sieur de Mont Springs in Acadia National Park. I remembered seeing one in bloom there previous years, along with the Yellow Lady Slipper. It was not to be…the caged Yellows were no where near to bloom, and there was no White.

Imagine my surprise then, when hiking the Ship’s Harbor Trail, over on the other (southern or eastern, depending on how you look at it) half of the “mitt” that makes up Mt Desert Island, to come on this specimen growing all alone in a bed of trailing juniper and moss. There was no easy access without trampling plants, so the best I could do was a tel-macro shot.

I had always assumed that the White Lady Slipper was its own species, but a little research when I got home showed that it is just a rare form of the Pink Lady Slipper. Same plant. Different color. That makes it, of course, no less unique or beautiful.

Canon SX50HS. Program with iContrast and Auto Shadow Control. -1/3EV exposure compensation. 1251mm and 1200mm.