Pink Lady’s Slipper – a wild Pennsylvania orchid
About 50 species of orchids grow in the Keystone State, but probably the most widespread and one of the showiest is the pink lady’s slipper or moccasin flower, Cypripedium acaule. \Literally translated, Cypripedium means Venus’ shoe and acaule refers to the flower’s stem.
One pink bloom grows atop of a 6- to 15-inch-tall leafless stem, which is nestled between two broad basil leaves. Each of the paired five- to eight-inch-long leaves is a shiny green and shows distinct parallel venation.
The flower itself is unique and easy to identify. Each flower has two large (about two-inch) infolded petals that form a pouch with a slit down the center. The petals are clearly veined and appear fuzzy. John Eastman, in The Book of Forest and Thicket, wrote, “The moccasin flower evokes sexual analogies (sex is, of course, what flowers are all about).”
Curious bees enter the flower by squeezing between the petals and can only escape by crawling over the pollen-bearing parts. Some never discover the flower’s “back door” and end up chewing their way out through a petal. If the same bee investigates a second orchid, it carries the pollen with it and fertilizes the flower — its sexual function complete. Since the pink pouch contains no nectar reward, some bees never enter another flower. Botanists hypothesize that this contributes to the plant’s low rate of seed production.
Moccasin flower has a mycorrhizal association — a symbiotic root relationship with a Rhizoctonia fungus. The very tiny seeds from this orchid have no food and they require the fungus to open the seed and attach. Once attached the fungus provides food for the germinating seed. Later, the fungus will extract food from the lady’s slipper, thus both organisms benefit.
All sources do agree that the species has very specific habitat requirements including an acidic soil with a pH level of 4-5. Claims about lady’s slippers’ moisture and sunlight requirements a vary.
The plants are usually found in the understory of deciduous or coniferous forests, receiving only filtered sunlight, but they also grow in more open environments. Lady’s slippers can be found on dry hillsides and, in Wisconsin and Indiana, they even grow in peat bogs.
Lady’s slippers are found in the eastern third of the United States, from Maine to northern Georgia. In Pennsylvania, moccasin flower blooms from mid-May through June. They can be found in Centre County at Bear Meadows Bog, Black Moshannon State Park, along upper Little Fishing Creek and at other locations.
If you enjoy this orchid, it is best to enjoy it in its natural habitat. They are difficult and/or illegal to transplant and nearly impossible to grow. It is illegal to transplant them from a state park, state game lands or a state forest. The plants also have hairs on their leaves and stems that cause a skin rash like poison ivy.
If you think that you can supply the required soil conditions, lady’s slippers can be purchased from wild plant nurseries that grew them from seed under exacting conditions in a greenhouse. Expect to pay close to 50 dollars per plant.
During the last two centuries, the root of lady’s slipper was used as a remedy for toothaches, nervousness and muscle spasms. According to the Doctrine of Signatures’ principles, which claim that plant appearance is related to its medicinal use, the root was also used as an aphrodisiac. It has no known use today.
Because of its long life cycle, specific growth requirements and rarity in some areas, pink lady’s slipper is listed as endangered in Delaware, Illinois, Tennessee and Georgia. It is the state flower of New Hampshire.
Enjoy lady’s slippers where you discover them, but don’t pick or attempt to transplant them.
