Searching for Slippers


Ladyslipper Orchid at Valley Falls Park, Vernon, CT

Searching for Slippers

Pink Ladyslipper Orchids are the most recognized native orchid of New England. Even people who do not know it is an orchid, or that there are any orchids that grow around here often are familiar with it. Ladyslippers begin to bloom in Connecticut in the middle of May. By the end of June you can still see them in Maine.

Cypripedium acaule is a terrestrial plant, unlike many tropical orchids that grow in or on trees. It grows in the ground, usually in somewhat acidic soil that is rich in decayed leaf matter or pine needles. It does not like to be soggy damp, nor will it grow if the soil is too sandy and dry.

E. Laurence Palmer's Fieldbook of Natural History is the first text that we use in our household to look up pretty much anything from the natural world.

Referred to as the Moccasin Flower, the Pink Lady's Slipper is described as follows:
"Leaves 2, lie almost flat on ground, to 8 inches long and to 3 inches wide, dark green with conspicuous, parallel veins. Roots fleshy, fibrous, and much branches. Flower-bearing stem may reach a height of 15 inches and may bear a small leaf-like bract on it.

Found from Newfoundland to Manitoba and Minnesota south to North Carolina and Tennessee. In Virginia, ranges to altitudes of 4,500 feet. It bears a number of common names such as Noah's Ark, Squirrel's Shoes, Camel's Foot, Nerveroot, Old Goose, Indian Moccasin, and Two Lips.

Flower borne single at top of a tall stalk or scape; conspicuous largely because of its inflated lip, which is 2 inches or more long, pink or sometimes white, and marked usually with dark lines. Sepals greenish purple, spreading, to 2 inches long, with lateral ones united.

Favors sandy or gravelly woodlands, usually where soil is thin and likely to be slightly acid. Leaves may be found through most of year with flower or fruit body on scape that rises between them. Flowers appear in May and June." (p. 148)

Anna Botsford Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study also refers to the C. acaule as the pink moccasin flower or the stemless lady's slipper. She describes it as "the sepals are greenish purple, and are likewise shorter (than the yellow lady's slipper); and the lower one is wide, indicating that it is made up of two grown together. At the base of the ovary there is a pointed green bract or leaf, which lifts up and bends above the flower. There are but two leaves on the stemless lady's slipper; they arise from the base of the stem. They are broadly ovate, and from six to seven inches long. This species grows in sandy or rocky woods." (p. 527).

Ladyslippers may grow as single plants, or may form large patches. Generally I find that if there is one, there are more. I also add the note that the stems are slightly furry, I can differentiate their buds from other plants in my beds by the furry green noses, as opposed to smooth.

When I'm in the woods, I look for things like Jack In The Pulpit. If this is blooming, then the Ladyslippers are, too. However, not in the same place! Jacks like to be pretty wet and where you find them you will not find Ladyslippers. Look upslope from there.

Companion plants may be Trillium, especially White or Painted Trillium. Sarsaparilla. Bunchberry. Clintonia borealis may be growing in the nearby area, but it tends to form great mats that will crowd out other wildflowers.

I find that Ladyslippers grow where the tree canopy is fairly open. They rarely grow in full sun, but where trees have been logged and brush/saplings left behind, you will find them growing in a year or two. In 1980 and 1981 when we had the huge infestation of Gypsy Moth Caterpillars devastating the oaks, a year after, we had a matching increased growth of Ladyslippers.

Bordering a wooded path or rails-to-trails road, Ladyslippers may be on both sides. I find that they will grow about 4 feet from the edge of the path, then into the woods for about 10 feet, but when the canopy of leaves becomes dense, there are no more plants. It is also interesting to note that there are more plants on the west side of a path where they will get East morning light but not the burning rays of afternoon.

Happy hunting!