The emblematic orchid of the flora of France! 

Recognizable among all orchids and emblematic of the difficulty these flowers have in living in our landscapes crisscrossed by tourists and Sunday walkers. Once very abundant, Venus Slippers were over-harvested to the point of almost disappearing. Their habitat is also threatened due to pastoral abandonment and the overgrowth of their biotope. In the north of the Côte d'Or, a cold climate allows them to perpetuate because otherwise, the species is more mountainous or northern. The story goes that the species was introduced there by monks and then "escaped" into the surrounding forests.
Generally, the plant supports a single flower but sometimes 2. Once fertilized, the flower fades quite quickly and its flowering is only observable for a short period.