Horticulture 211 - Lady Slippers

Plant Schience 211, Fall 2010
North Dakota State University

Photographs


This is a prime example of a Pink Lady Slippy growing near Chaska, MN.	Here is the very rare White Lady Slipper, much less common than the Pink.	Here we have several very large examples of the Pink Lady Slipper.

Habitiat and Facts:

The pink and white lady’s slipper (Cypripedium reginae), also known as the showy lady’s slipper or queen’s lady slipper, was adopted as the state flower in 1902. Found living in open ferns, bogs, swamps, and damp woods where there is plenty of light, lady’s slippers grow slowly, taking up to 16 years to produce their first flowers. They bloom in late June or early July. The plants live for up to 50 years and grow four feet tall.

Identification:

The name "lady's slipper" comes from the distinctive flower shape, which is reminiscent of a slipper or moccasin. Pink lady's slippers are unique in that they have only two leaves at the base of the upright stem and a single flower. One source of confusion for beginning botanists is the fact that pink lady's slippers are not always pink - there is a less common white form.

Propagation:

Lady's slippers grow from seed, though it appears to be an arduous process. They can take from ten to fifteen years to flower after seeds germinate and the rate of germination is never very high. The seeds don't contain cotyledons (a built-in source of food) that all other seeds contain. The seed needs to come in contact with a beneficial fungus that will provide it with necessary nutrients. A laboratory in Charlottetown is presently attempting to grow some small plants from seed in sterile conditions and hopefully we will have some success transplanting these out.