Sunday, December 5, 2010

Lady's Slipper Orchids in Northern Indiana

Uncommon and difficult to find, these remnants of earlier times exist mostly due to the preservation efforts of caring people at The Nature Conservancy, the Indiana DNR Division of Nature Preserves, several private land trusts, and of course the people who support them.
Cypripedium candidum, Whippoorwill's Shoe, Small White Lady's Slipper

Cypripedium calceolus var. parviflorum, Small Yellow Lady's Slipper


Hybrid Lady's Slipper. This is a hybrid of the two previous species, Small White and Small Yellow Lady's Slipper. Depending on your treatment of the large and small yellows (as varieties or distinct species), this hybrid is either Cypripedium X andrewsii or Cypripedium X favillianum (see Swink and Wilhelm, 1994). This orchid is known to backcross with parents, resulting in a "hybrid swarm."


Cypripedium reginae, Showy Lady's Slipper

Cypripedium calceolus var. pubescens, Large Yellow Lady's Slipper

Cypripedium acaule, Pink Moccasin Flower

"Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine trees, and he who understands it aright will rather preserve life than destroy it." Henry David Thoreau, The Maine Woods

5 comments:

Pete said...

Nice series Keith. Paul Martin Brown in his book "The Wild Orchids of North America North of Mexico" distinguishes between the southern small yellow and northern small yellow--Cypripedium parviflorum v. parviflorum and Cypripedium parivflorum v.makasin. His range description is a little sketchy, but I think we are finding the northern form here in northern Indiana. What do you think?

Keith Board said...

Thanks Peter. Due to an extreme lack of experience with these rarities I have no choice but to follow the treatment of local authorities in blind faith. Sadly I have nothing on which to base an opinion of my own.

Pete said...

This link to a note by Sheviak at eFlora shows a distribution map for northern small yellow lady's slipper--Cypripedium parviflorum v. makasin. It shows this variety occurring across the northern one-half of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and all of Iowa

http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242102235

Anne said...

i am farming an old piece of property that was originally given as a land grant after the revolutionary war. i am in kentucky. I noticed while i was weedeating a trail on the most remote part of our farm a curious flower with a yellow center. come to find out it is a kentucky lady slipper. they are everywhere....someone should really take a look at these! i think there are several endangered plants on my farm.

Keith Board said...

Anne, please send pictures!!!