The Lady Slipper: Spring's Beautiful Maidens

The spring orchids, especially the lady slippers, (Cypripedium acaule) are among the biggest treats in store for the person who ventures into the woods on a May or June day. They have long been the subject of folklore.










A native American chief was going off to war, and to comfort his young daughter, he promised to bring pink moccasins to her when he returned. He was killed, and she then died of grief. The mother fell asleep on the girl's grave, and when she awoke, she saw the pink moccasin flower. Thus she knew that the father and his loving daughter had been reunited.

The scientific name for these delicate and beautiful flowers has an equally interesting origin. "Cypripedium" is the Greek name for the slipper of Venus, the goddess of love. Other common names for it are not so flattering. They include camel's foot, squirrel's foot, steeple cap, whippoorwill shoes, two-lips, and the worst of all, old goose.

The pink one is not found west of the Mississippi River.



The lady slipper will only survive for a year or two if transplanted because it depends on a symbiotic relationship with a the Rizoctonia fungus where it is growing. The rhizomes for it can be as much as three feet long. Also, the flower should never be picked because it will interfere with the plant's life cycle and it's chances for reproducing. It is illegal to pick or dig these plants in several states.

While the average life span of the plant is twenty years, it may take at least five years to go from seed to flowering stage.

Although the lady slipper does not produce nectar, its pollinators are attracted by its color and fragrance. There is speculation that it produces a pheromone scent that attracts the males to mate. Bees enter from the front of the pouch but can't get back out that way so they must exit through a narrow passage. It is here that they get pollen on their back hairs.

The seeds are as tiny as a grain of powder.

The lady slipper was so popular during Victorian times and dug so frequently, that it was thought to be extinct.

The roots have been used for a number of medicinal purposes including pain relief. Native Americans used it to treat toothaches.

There are lots of hairs on this plant to keep it from being eaten. They contain a fatty acid that can cause a rash similar to poison ivy, another good reason not to pick it. This same fatty acid is also poisonous to people and animals.

And this reminds us of a quote by President Theodore Roosevelt.

"Wildflowers should be enjoyed unplucked where they grow"