Wild Flower ID please

[dcg0317]

Hi could someone ID this wild flower for me, I went for a walk in the woods and saw this flower, not sure what it is called, thanks for any help. I've never posted here on the flower and garden forum but have lurked and gotten some good info, thanks.
Don

 

[sorcerormickey]

Oooooohhhh....nice pic!!

That would be Pink Lady's Slipper. Check it out here.

 

[DebºoºS]

What a great find!

Pink Lady's Slipper, Moccasin Flower, American Valerian, Nerveroot Whippoorwill's-shoe

I believe there is a law in NY that says it is illegal to transplant it. I found this out after transplanting it into my garden. It continued to bloom year after year. Loved it!

Scientific Name: Cypripedium acaule (Latin acaule means "without a stalk (caulis)," as the flower grows directly from the basal leaves without a true stem)

A large, striking pink orchid found in relative abundance along woodland trails (orchid derives from the Greek orchis meaning testicle referring to the globular shape of the plant's tuber --- orchiectomy is the technical term for castration).


The root of the lady's slipper has been used as a sedative since colonial times. Powdered root was steeped in boiling water and used as a tranquilizing tonic and was widely available as a drug in the 19th Century. The name American Valerian refers to its use as a substitute for the European garden heliotrope (genus Valeriana) known as valerian, which has similar uses as a remedy for nervousness.
That is a very good pic too. Thank you for posting it I haven't seen a Lady's Slipper in a long time.

 

[dcg0317]

Thanks for the info, I never knew any of this about the flower, there weren't that many but if I looked hard I could spot them out, thanks again for the info.
Don

 

[Maleficent2]

I beleive that the Pink Lady Slipper is a "protected"wildflower that is not to say you can not purchase it and plant it in your garden. But usually the rewards of this are short lived lasting only about 2-3 years before it disappears. The PLS need a bacteria to thrive and most gardens do not have it so the plant usually dies.

I did find this and copy and pasted it for you...

Pink Lady's Slipper is a very attractive and popular plant because of the strange and beautiful pink flower. It is also rare and needs to be left alone in the few places it is surviving. The plant is actually an orchid with the alternate name of moccasin flower. The plant has two wide basal leaves that stay horizontal and a single stalk growing to about a foot high bearing the pink flower. Transplanting from the wild is strongly discouraged because of the rarity of the plant and the almost nil chances of success. New plants are difficult to start because of the need for symbiotic fungi in supping nutrients to the seed. It takes years for the new plant to develop leaves for supplying its own energy. The plant requires low pH, nutrient poor soil and other special conditions for successful establishment. The various Lady's Slipper species are grown commercially in quantity and plants can be obtained by that means. One of the growers is Vermont Ladyslipper Company, 56 Leduc Road, New Haven, Vermont 05472-1000 (Web site http://www.vtlady slipper.com). The Yellow Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium calceolus) is another species that is occasionally seen in our area.

they mention the yellow Lady's Slipper while the pink is hard to keep the yellow does not need the bacteria and will thrive in a home wildflower garden and once established will multiply and spread.


I rescued 3 from a highway expansion over 10 years ago and now have 8 and they have moved with us whenever we have moved. I just had to transplant them again this spring because a oakleaf hydrangea was crowding them out.

Mal

 

[UrsulasShadow]

I have several of these in my little patch of woods. I'd never attempt to move them, because I value them too highly to take the risk of not giving them the conditions needed for them to thrive.

 

[dianeschlicht]

The "Lady slipper" is the state flower of Minnesota, and yes, here it is illegal to dig them, but we are permitted to own them if they have been purchased from a registered grower.