There are 3 to 7 oval or lance-shaped leaves arranged alternately on the stem, each up to 19 centimetres (7.5 inches) long by 6 cm (2.4 in) wide.

[3] It grows in moist spruce forests at low elevations, tundra, dunes, and river terraces, lakeshores, and streambanks.

It also is found Alaska and in the Rocky Mountains of Montana, including inside Glacier National Park.

[9] A variety of species grow with the sparrow's-egg lady-slipper, such as Linnaea borealis, Carex concinna, Orthilia secunda, and Pleurozium schreberi.

[5] In Canada, it has been found in Wagner Natural Area outside of Edmonton, where efforts are ongoing to use microsatellites for its conservation.