Flower:

A slender smooth raceme of 4 to 18 irregular flowers each ½ to ¾ inch wide and high, on the ends of ½ inch green ovaries with a single bract up to ¾ inch long. The upper lip is a pinkish hood. The lower lip is white with purple spots and 3-lobed, with the middle lobe largest and notched at the tip. 2 petal-like white sepals spread out at the sides with a third over the hood. A curving spur hangs down at the back. A very cheerful and merry clown-like flower with a pink hood, white drapped side arms and purple polka-dot pantaloons on.

Leaves and stem:

A single basal leaf 2 to 6 inches long, ¾ to 3½ inches wide, generally oval to elliptic, toothless, hairless, and blunted at the tip. The single flowering stem is smooth and green.

Fruit:

Fruit is an erect capsule, ½ to ¾ inch long.

Notes:

An exciting wildflower to come upon, it is not so rare but its habitat is rarely visited. Common on the large peatlands of northwest and north-central Minnesota it is also a denizen of dark coniferous bogs of the NE. In some references, this species goes by synonym Galearis rotundifolia.