Finding The Lady Slippers

It was time to take a walk through the forest by the house to check on the Lady’s Slippers. They are near the end of their blooming season.

The orchid’s name, Lady’s Slipper, comes from the flower shape of the bloom which is similar to a slipper or moccasin. Sometimes they are referred to as Moccasin flowers.

These flowers bloom in late May and June and can be found in shady woodlands. They are delicate and should not be picked or moved as they rarely survive a different location then under or near the spruce and poplar trees deep in the forest.

Lady’s Slipper is the provincial flower of Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada and the state wildflower of New Hampshire, U.S. I’ve only seen the pink ones here on the property but they can also be found in white and yellow colors. These are rare orchids and are really endangered because of loss of habitat.

It’s always amazing to see such beautiful flowers hidden in the forest, sometimes with fallen twigs all around them.

Facts about the Lady’s slipper

Cypripedium acaule is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae. It is commonly referred to as the pink lady's slipper or moccasin flower. Wikipedia
Conservation status: Least Concern (Population decreasing) Encyclopedia of Life

Species: C. acaule
Family: Orchidaceae
Genus: Cypripedium
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Asparagales
source

Many of the wildflowers, such as, Trilliums and Jack in the Pulpit, have bloomed and faded but there were still lovely wildflowers to be seen on my little forest walk.

Hidden close on the forest floor is the lovely Star Flower.

I was too late to see the white blooms on the thorny branches of the Hawthorn tree.

Daisies and the colorful Devil’s paint Brushes (also known as Orange Hawkweed) wave greetings as I come near the clearing to leave the forest.

Memories

Walking through the forest reminds me of walks with my father. He was a Forest Ranger and as we walked through the forest he would tell me the names of different trees and wildflowers. Picking gum off the spruce trees and chewing it is still a vivid memory of these carefree times.

As I leave the shade of the forest trees, wild strawberries catch my eye in the tall grass. Now if only I had a bowl with me to pick some. Wild strawberries have the sweetest taste and bring back wonderful memories of berry picking with my grandmother. She would take me and another cousin and we would spent an afternoon picking whatever berries were in season, raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries. I would eat more fresh berries than I ever put in the bowl but if we picked enough she would make a delicious strawberry shortcake when we returned to her house.