An endangered flower in our woodlands is the impressive Pink
Lady Slipper (Cypripedium acaule). A favorite food of the white tail deer, lady
slippers are quickly disappearing from over browsing and habitat loss. This large showy flower belongs to the orchid
family and can, if lucky enough, flourish for 20 – 150 years. However, it is a
niche plant, only surviving in limited circumstances. Like all orchids, its seed contains no food
for germination but instead relies on a specific fungus to eat the outer shell
and subsequently provide it with sustenance to grow. Once the plant grows large enough to provide
its own food, the fungus will extract nutrients from the plant’s roots, making
this a truly symbiotic relationship. And
this is what makes the plant so difficult to transplant. It must have the correct fungus, soil type, and
moisture combination. The Lady takes
many years to go from seed to mature plant.
Once it does blossom, it requires bees to pollinate it. Attracted by its scent and color, the bee
enters through the top slit and becomes trapped. Its only escape route is along hairs that
lead past the sigma to a pair of exit openings, one beneath each pollen mass. Because the flower has no nectar, once fooled
a bee will rarely return. Research shows
that out of 1,000 flowers, only about 23 will become pollinated. But each flower can produce about 60,000 tiny
seeds. So it is the plant’s longevity
that provides for the species survival. If
you see one in the wild, consider yourself lucky, take pictures but don’t
pick! The Lady needs to be left
alone. Photo: University of Wisconsin - Madison
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