He always told there used to be many lady slippers growing on all the islands in between the water. About 6 would grow in an old growth white pine forest off of Stackpole Rd. We had lady slippers along our long driveway down to Torch Lake Michigan. I had a friend in one day and she was shocked and told me they were on the conservation llist. I remember doing this at the GS Camp Hoffman in Kingston RI. We also found lady slippers and I contracted the worst case of what acted like poison ivy or poison oak from sniffing the lady slippers. Get away from the over crowding , pollution , urban expanse and the like and most plants are perfectly happy I find. This is my first spring in New England and what should I find in the wooded side yard off my deck but several pink Lady Slipper’s. The genus Mexipedium consists of a single species, M. xerophyticum, endemic to a small region of Oaxaca, Mexico. I’ve been gone from Concord for over 40 years now, many years, and the area where lady slippers once grew has long-since been developed, thus destroying the fragile ecosystem required in order for these beautiful orchids to grow. And I was told when I was a child that it was illegal to pick them and to this day, my mother continues to tell me this. I understood that the rule for not piking them was because you would pull up the entire plant when you tugged the flower. Spring was a rather magical time back then, Lupine bloomed by the hundreds, like blue clouds and the pink Lady Slippers appeared. Do Lady Slippers grow in other parts of the country, or are they indigenous to New England. I recall hearing the legend of this lovely plant. This May we were delighted to find two beautiful lady slippers growing at the edge of our yard. It was shady, and they were lovely! I just thought I’d share ???? I have them in my backyard. We purchased a small caretakers house from a larger parcel of land that was being broken up. When we bought our property in 1997, we were thrilled to discover 2 or three young lady slipper plants just coming into flowering. I just came across one yesterday and was wondering if they’re still endangered! Endangered “Endangered” means the species lives in the wild in Ontario but is facing imminent extinction or extirpation. We also have a jack-in-pulpit in bloom and both red and painted trillium. In the United States, showy lady’s slippers are listed as endangered, threatened, historical, exploitatively vulnerable, or special concern in 14 states. When I was a youngster, I remember seeing just one and only one beautiful pink Lady Slipper growing in the woods in back of my house. It is such a treat and a joy to see one of them, just like it is to see any rare wild animal! We had bought a new house in February, and in early June the neighbor said “How’s the lady slipper patch doing”? I believe there are grant programs to aid in growing and repopulating the lady slipper. I have lived in Hingham, MA since 1986 and have spent a great deal of time in our local woods, with our dogs. I was also told it was illegal to pick, and was very upset if anyone broke this sacrosanct law. Until I looked at this article and realized how true it is!! She told us it was illegal to pick them and we obeyed, except for one time. They were lovely. Love to see them in bunches and I wish the entire world was covered in lady slippers! Trust me on this, you won’t be successful trying to grow them. We had a small area on our property that was covered with Lady Slippers. It was a great place to grow up and articles like this bring an aging man back to childhood. I m also in the Adirondacks. We have several plants at our camp in Denmark. They grew all over the woods on the family farm in Chateaugay, New York and in Ellenburg, New York. We have “let them be” and they seem to do well. We are lucky enough to have them along the right of way to our summer cottage in the Lakes Region of NH. They are illegal to pick or transplant. Back then, it was illegal to pick them. I WAS BORN AND RAISED ON LOCUSVILLE POND THE HOUSE FACING SOAP HOUSE LANE. The Tall Grass Prairie Preserve of southern Manitoba has the most with about 24 patches of varying sizes which are regularly monitored. We once counted over 120 of them in pinks and whites. Now as an adult I am always excited to see lady’s slippers in the wild. Never had them before. If you get caught you could be fined. I always had scissors or a knife and cut the stems, believing they would regrow, and that seemed to be the case year after year. Although we were in a sub-development close to North Easton Center and down the street from where all the schools now are, our backyard (and the woods beyond) seemed a microcosm of the protected and endangered plants it seemed. But the beauty and splendor of this wondrous plant has never been matched or supplanted in memory. I obediently let them be–even though I really wanted to pick a bouquet to bring home! The pink variety bloomed in July in the woods behind our house in lower Delaware when I was a child. It’s a few hundred yards from our house in a small clearing in the woods. They are narrow-leaved plants native to tropical America. I wish the thief was a bit more informed about what a bad idea that was on so many levels. Date added to the Species at Risk in Ontario List. One day we saw a delicate pink flower near the path. I didn’t know they grew this far South..???? The woods around my father’s house in Foxborough had plenty of Lady Slippers. My Grandfather believed we are stewards not owners of the land. Now I I love seeing them so much. Endangered. They were protected “way back then” in New York. Some species of lady slipper are listed as endangered or threatened in New England. I went several times but no flowers. I was just on a walk in a forest near my home (NEPA) when I stumbled upon one of these. Most species have rhizomes and fibrous roots. Rocky Woods Reservation in Medfield MA is loaded with lady slippers. As a young girl we used to walk through the woods to get to school. – Carol. I think I’ll go post a small laminated card next to it asking fellow hikers to leave it be along with a link to this page. In east central West Virginia, the logging industry has taken it’s toll on not only the Pink Lady Slipper but other high mountain species as well. Beautiful Touch to Gods Land that we were blessed with. They are pretty. My parents told me that it was illegal to pick the Lady slippers so we never did. I will print out this article for her to read. i want to pot a few up from my direct property. We have always left these plants alone. We don’t touch them and certainly don’t pick them. Over the last. Common ... showy lady's-slipper. On our walks in Cole Harbour we see a few of the pink-purple ones around the edges of forests. Once established, lady slipper plants will propagate on their own and live for many years if left undisturbed. One clump produces dozens of blooms. I love seeing lady slippers, but only in pictures now, as I have seen none on my hikes and camping trips in SC. Needless to say they did not take and we were crushed. Love these flowers! When we built our home 30 years ago we only had a couple of Lady Slippers in our yard, this spring I counted over 70!!! Learn about orchids, including the lady's slipper. The genus Cypripedium has about 50 temperate and subtropical species, most of which are terrestrial. 🙂. I wanted so badly to grow them in our yard that I dug one up. Growing up the lady slippers grew in the wood around our house. One of her favorite projects was “nature,” more exactly, exploring the natural world around you. Other common names: Moccasin Flower, Pink Moccasin Flower, Stemless Lady's Slipper Other scientific names: Cypripedium humile, Fissipes acaulis French names: Cypripède acaule Family: Orchid Family (Orchidaceae) Group: Orchids, Lady's Slippers Distinctive features: Classic Lady Slipper flower shape; pink. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Dad had instructed us at a very young age that they were not to be picked as the length of time to grow was significant. Updated 2015 . There were “stinky” red trilliums adjacent to our home, a wooded lot, and across the street from him house, another vacant lot he owned, there were white trilliums, that don’t smell, which I liked better because they don’t smell! Because a picked lady slipper will not rejuvenate itself, and the plant has a less than 5% transplant success rate, they are often considered “off-limits” to pickers and diggers. i have rattlesnake plantain from my property as well, 5 of them, potted and thriving (semi sun and hi moisture). We were successful and now, in addition t our state flower, the lilac, which is not native to New Hampshire, we have the pink lady’s slipper as our state wildflower. Was looking for a response close to Belchertown, MA. In addition to inspiring folklore, lady slipper roots were also widely used by Native Americans as medicinal herbs. Learn more! It was so special. I am now 78 years old and I would NEVER pick a Lady Slipper. It seems this is a hot topic! I have not been back for may years but am hoping to go back again next sprint (2017). I never planted it and have never seen one in the woods around our house. In my new home in Dighton, MA, I found one stray slipper in the woods behind my house. There are a few every year in the woods adjacent to “Five Mile Pond” in Springfield, MA. They were in the woods at the summer camp built by her grandfather, father, and uncles. Some species of lady slipper are listed as endangered or threatened in New England. Just bought a second home in Tamworth, New Hampshire. There was a huge field behind our house. Others, like the common Pink Lady’s Slipper, are listed as “special concern” under the Native Plant Protection Act. We live in South Kingstown RI. Remember seeing these as a child growing up west of Boston. They did come up the following years but I think it was because of the same soil conditions. I never picked them again! I learned to give lady slippers a wide berth whenever I’ve seen them in the woods. And saw lady slippers there. Now, I believe, they have built homes in those woods. I have no idea how it go there. They transform the woods into an enchanted forest! My mother could spot them out in the woods from a mile away! When I was living in Milford MA there was a patch of woods near my home where there was a very nice clump of lady slippers. We never tried again. I lived in Massachusetts as a youngster and remember the beautiful Lady Slipper’s on a point of our land that went out into Sabbatia Lake in Taunton. Because a picked lady slipper will not rejuvenate itself, and the plant has a less than 5% transplant success rate, they are … 2016. She informed me that it was illegal (first I knew of it) and my older brothers added that I would probably go to jail! Just came across one on our property here in Suffolk county Long Island, NY our two year old wanted to pick it and I was nervous that it was poisonous or something because I have never see one before and they’re so unique looking. I’m lucky to have them growing in my yard in Townsend Ma. We don’t know where or why…. We always picked them as a bouquet for our Moms. Grew up in Needham, MA but summered in Woodstock, VT at the family farm which had been passed down on my mom’s side. Growing up as a child in Wakefield, Mass. Cypripedium reginae, known as the showy lady's slipper, pink-and-white lady's-slipper, or the queen's lady's-slipper, is a rare lady's-slipper orchid native to northern North America. It’s rare and needs to be protected.” I was sad, but also extremely excited about my find. I live in Wolcott Ct and on our walking trail I’ve found 2 Lady Slippers growing this spring and was quite surprised to see them.. Threatened and Endangered Information: This plant is listed by the U.S. federal government or a state. Not knowing it was illegal however. My mom and I were walking around Walden Pond in Lexington, Massachusetts when we spotted a native plant that was absolutely gorgeous, unique, and funky! Would love to sow them in the surrounding woods to help them keep growing. 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