Minnesota chose the Showy Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium reginae) in the early part of last century as it's State Flower. Can you blame them? According to the DNR's website, it's just one of 43 orchids growing wild here in Minnesota, but everybody agrees it's the most gorgeous one. (According to my own opinion and a recent unofficial poll I did this morning of four farmers.) I mentioned in an earlier post that we have some Lady's Slippers in our yard. We found some little yellow ones, but now the whole area is covered in the big huge pink and white ones. They are so gorgeous!
They first sprouted when I was in Minneapolis last weekend. My dad called and left me an out-of-breath message, which I will transcribe here for your amusement:
"Kady! Forget the transplanting they're all over between the Heart's cabin and the road. And... they're...Oh, Kady...not a million...but probably...I've seen about ten now and I've seen some plants that haven't blossomed yet. Aw...Kady...anyway...ummm...I'm just gonna be a horticulturist from now on, I'm not gonna be monkeyin' with no deer hunting and...OH MY GOSH!! I almost stepped on two plants without blooms!. Oh my word. Kady They're all over. OH MY GOSH!! MORE!! They're not blooming but the plants are here. They're all over Kady...you can't...it's a sanctuary we can't even walk out here. Bye."
So today, dad and I tromped around the ditches alongside Highway 11 and also Rocky Point Road to bring you these gorgeous photos of our state flower, the "Showy Lady's Slipper":
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| You can see where they get their name, because don't they look just like a little lady's slipper!? |
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| Look how big they are! |
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| Here's a big yellow one! I love it's little mustache thingee. |
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| Yellows and pinkies growing together! |
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| Clumps of them all over the place! |
No wonder he called me about them. You weren't home. I will send you his message to me. Maybe you can post the audio to your blog.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! I've never seen one growing in the wild. I've seen the yellow ones but never a pink one. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a pink one in real life at all. I'm coming over.
ReplyDeleteSo pretty! I was told when I was younger that it is illegal to pick a lady slipper in MN. Also, I think you mean LAST century, not this one, right?
ReplyDeleteoops! Yes, last century! 1902 to be exact. And then they protected them in 1925.
ReplyDeleteWe're not allowed to pick them. Ignore my dad's comment about 'transplanting' them...they can't even BE transplanted (according to google) because they don't survive. So we'll just go "Oh my GOSH!" and photograph them.
I would like to say that I spent a lot of time with Ms. Hexum from Friday to Sunday and I think she received no less than twelve phonecalls about these things.
ReplyDeleteI keep trying to like these pictures and am not seeing it, till I finally figure out this is your blog and not FB. Anyway I like them.
ReplyDeleteThe next time you go over to the park with the natural spring in Williams, take a picture of the lady slippers there, I have not seen them for years and would like to know how they are doing.
Since Dad is already an Arborist, I think he should become a Horticulturist too!
I remember seeing lady slippers as a kid and have wondered why I hadn't seen any for years. I thought maybe they all were dying out. Now I realize that they're all in Roosevelt and that when I saw them as a kid it was always with Sandy Fish.
ReplyDeleteI completely disagree that it's the most beautiful orchid in Minnesota. One of my favorite flowers is the Spotted Coralroot and it's a thousand times prettier than lady slippers.
ReplyDeleteAlso, tell Grandpa not to transplant them because they take like fifteen years to mature enough to have flowers! Also, they're like poison ivy so don't even touch them.
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