The pink lady slipper flower is also known as the “moccasin
flower” is very own much admired and often misunderstood wild native orchid in
North America. Cypripedium acaule is a member of the orchid genus Cypripedium,
commonly referred to as lady's slipper orchids. The Lady’s slipper is first
described in 1789 by Scottish botanist William Aiton. The flower is named for their resemblance to
a delicate pair of feminine slippers in hues of pink, white, or variegated
colors. Lady’s slipper orchids have a commanding presence their inflated blooms
are charismatic to the point of heady swooning and inspiring colorful prose. The
lady slipper flower is a hardy perennial & stubborn plant, can take many
years to grow and develop from seed to mature plants.
The seed germination tends to be less commonly available than
other Cyp species and hybrids. This is primarily due to the extra care that
must be provided if the growing site is not naturally suitable for in-ground
cultivation. In pink lady’s slipper, it is the flower, and not the root, that
is reminiscent of male naughty bits. The pink lady’s slipper labellum is
inflated and heavily veined, and other two petals are pink and narrow,
twisting, and extending out to the side of the flower, like a dancer’s arms in
mid-twirl. The flowers rely on a process called symbiosis to survive, which is
typical of most orchid species. Symbiosis is when an organism, in this case a
fungus found in the soil, is needed for a plant to grow and thrive. The fungus
breaks open the lady slipper seed and attaches to it, passing on the food and
nutrients needed for it to flourish. Once the lady slipper plant is mature and
producing its own nutrients, the fungus will extract nutrients from the orchid
roots.
The lady’s slipper requires highly acidic soil but tolerates
a range of shade and moisture, though it prefers at least partial shade and
well-drained slopes. It is habitually found in pine forests, where it can be
seen in large colonies, but it also grows in deciduous woods. Once the lady
slipper plants established, it will propagate at their own and live for lots of
years if left undisturbed. Because a picked lady slipper will not rejuvenate
itself, and the plant has a less than 5% transplant success rate, they are
often considered “off limits” to pickers and diggers. The alluring pink petals,
along with the flower’s wafting fragrance, entice large bumblebees, who ineptly
pry their way into the inner chambers of the labellum, but bees quickly realize
they have been duped, as there is no nectar to be found. The bees are incapable
to retreat via the labellum due to the petal’s crafty design, so they look
elsewhere for an escape from the pink luminescent chamber.
Lady’s Slipper color is so soothing and peaceful, look like
so many little pink balloons, long deflated, on short stalks. Its scientific
name is Cypripedium acaule; the species name means stemless, but flower
actually has a stem, though not technically a stem. It’s a flower stalk, which
botanists call a scape. Pink lady’s slipper grows in dry or wet acidic woods,
under conifers such as pine and hemlock, or in mixed hardwoods. In the southern
Appalachians, it is growing under sourwood, white pine and tupelo trees. Its
range extends from Newfoundland, west to Alberta, down into northern Alabama
and eastern Georgia.
