Lady’s Slipper Orchids: Footwear for the Gods
Yellow lady’s slipper (photo credit D. Gordon E. Robertson, Creative Commons license)
Every spring I go to the Fells just outside of Boston to look for lady’s slipper orchids. When I first moved here, I didn’t believe it was possible for orchids to live in New England, where the average winter temperature is around 20 degrees Fahrenheit. And there was certainly no way that in April, with snow often still on the ground, that orchids would flower. But they do. And those flowers are among the most unique of the orchid family.
Lady’s slipper orchids belong to the Cypripedium genus of the orchid family. The “pedi” of the genus name pertains to feet, and is from the word “pedilon,” which means sandal. “Cypris” refers to Aphrodite, so the name of this genus translates roughly to “Aphrodite’s shoe” (or “sandal” or “slipper”). It’s also commonly known as the “moccasin flower,” which is also an apt description.
Lady’s slipper (Creative Commons, Pixabay)
The petals of lady’s slipper orchids meld together to form the labellum, or pouch. The stamen inside the pouch attracts insects, which pollinate the flower. Lady’s slippers live everywhere—of the 50 species worldwide, 30 live in the Northern Hemisphere and 12 live in the U.S. In states such as Massachusetts, they’re considered perennials. Two species can be found in Alaska. In fact, there are only three states in which lady’s slippers don’t grow: Florida, Hawaii, and Nevada. Generally, they like temperatures under 60 degrees. Unlike most orchids, lady’s slippers are terrestrial, which means they live in soil.
Red Lady’s slipper (Creative Commons license)
Lady’s slipper orchids have diminished in number for many reasons, the first of which is because their unique appearance makes them desirable. They’re also particularly difficult to transplant successfully from the wild and in general not easy to grow. They’ve also suffered because of habitat loss due to deforestation and climate change, given their relatively northern environments. And for centuries, they were frequently harvested for their medical properties.
According to the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Native Americans used lady’s slippers to alleviate fevers and various other aches and pains. In particular, the orchids’ tuberous roots, dried and powdered, were made into tinctures and other concoctions used to treat emotional distress and sleeplessness. Those comfort-inducing uses of the plant caught on with European settlers, who harvested it until the mid-1900s (or until 1935 in Massachusetts’ case, when it became illegal).
Lady’s slipper (Creative Commons, Pixabay)
I would love to own a lady’s slipper orchid, but I’m a bit intimidated. Based on what I’ve read, some kinds of lady’s slippers are “relatively easy” to keep indoors in fairly typical orchid conditions: humidity and bright, indirect light. They do apparently prefer that their soil be consistently and evenly moist, which means that growing them successfully means knowing how to walk the fine line between moisture and wetness or sogginess, which leads to root rot. A crumbly and airy growing medium (many mixes feature at least one-part sand) is helpful too, so it can retain some moisture but not too much.
Now that I’ve looked at all these photos of lady’s slippers, it’s official going on my plant wish list. If there’s ever a sale of Aphrodite’s sandals, I’m there.
