moccasin flower

American  

noun

1. the lady's-slipper.

2. a cypripedium, Cypripedium acaule, of the U.S.

---

moccasin flower British  

noun

1. any of several North American orchids of the genus Cypripedium with a pink solitary flower See also lady's-slipper cypripedium

---

Etymology

Origin of moccasin flower

An Americanism dating back to 1670–80

Example Sentences

"That's the pink moccasin flower," Johnnie told him.

From The Power and the Glory by Keller, Arthur Ignatius

There, I think, on that lonely grave,     Violets spring in the soft May shower; There, in the summer breezes, wave     Crimson phlox and moccasin flower.

From Poems by Bryant, William Cullen

"He'd never seen a pink moccasin flower, and I gave him the one I had and told him where it grew."

From The Power and the Glory by Keller, Arthur Ignatius

She also maintained lengthy newspaper controversies with parties in Manitoba, who claimed the prior right of that province to the moccasin flower, all of whom she vanquished.

From The History of Minnesota and Tales of the Frontier by Flandrau, Charles E. (Charles Eugene)

The yellow moccasin flower is the whippoorwill's shoe.

From The Little Red Foot by Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William)