Grant Matheny, age 11, of Johnson City, Tenn., for his question:

WHY IS THE FLOWER CALLED THE LADY'S SLIPPER?

About a dozen varieties of a beautiful flower called the lady's slipper can be found growing in cool, damp woods and marshes. It is a wild flower that is a member of the orchid family and its name was given because the lower part of its flower is shaped like the front part of a slipper.

The pouchlike slipper is usually brightly colored. It has a very sweet nectar that attracts lots of insects.

North American Indians called one type of lady's slipper the moccasin flower. This name was also given because the flower looked like footwear.

The flower's Latin name is cypripedium, which means "slipper of Venus."

Above the slipper part of the flower are two petals and three twisted sepals. The heavy flowers droop from very thin stems.

Lady's slippers used to be very common in much of the Eastern and central parts of the United States, but they are becoming more rare as woods and marshes disappear.