June 3, 2018 - Lady's Footwear

After last week's journal entry I received a couple of reports of moose sightings around Meredith, including a female (cow) with two calves right along the northern tip of Lake Winnisquam.  Jane Gregoire caught a great picture of the whole family, early in the morning on April 28.

Three moose with Lake Winnisquam in the background.  Photo by Jane Gregoire.

The other moose sighting was out on Meredith Neck.  It's great to have a network of nature watchers on the lookout for wildlife - keep those reports and pictures coming!  Here are two beautiful photos taken on Lake Wicwas by Larry Feig early one calm morning.

West shore of Lake Wicwas.  Photo by Larry Feig

Harris Conservation Area.  Photo by Larry Feig

It just seems that mornings are the best time to be out watching for rare sights - thanks for sharing!  

This time of year it seems that everyone has a Lady's Slipper story in their life.  Recently someone was telling me about the memories they have of their father whenever they see one of these lovely flowers.  

Pink Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium acaule)

My own first memory is from my mother, pointing out a lady's slipper on a walk in the woods, and telling me I should never pick this rare flower.  She also explained that one shouldn't even try to transplant them, as they require a specific micro-climate in the soil, and they are unlikely to survive if transplanted elsewhere.  A couple of years ago I came across an article in Northern Woodlands by Susan Shea about her first encounter with a lady's slipper.  She described a camping site in Vermont that was surrounded by them, and then provided a wealth of information about these native orchids, including their unusual method of pollination.  The unique blossom of the lady's slipper has its petals fused together, forming a pouch with a hole in the center through which a bee enters.

The petals connect, forming a pouch

As the bee passes through the narrow blossom on the way to the exit holes on the top, it is forced to brush against the flower's female part, where it deposits any pollen it had collected from another flower.  Then, as it passes out the exit hole, the flower's male protrusion rubs against the bee, depositing its pollen to be shared on the next flower the bee visits.  There is however one major flaw in the system:  the lady slipper doesn't produce any nectar, so bees quickly learn to ignore these flowers, meaning only a small percentage of them get pollinated each year, a factor in their sparse population.

An unknowing bumblebee looking for nectar

Here is another unusual challenge for these plants:  their seeds have no starches to help them germinate and grow (compare that to, say, the large nutritive-content around an apple seed).  When a successfully pollinated lady's slipper seed is released, it must land on the ground and come in contact with a specific type of fungus that will work with the seed to allow it to absorb nutrients from the soil.  (See blog entry from October  2016 for more about how almost every plant in the forest is dependent on fungi.)  Fortunately, you can grow them in your garden without disturbing wild plants, as nurseries have learned how to propagate them, so you can purchase seeds commercially, along with special soil containing the proper fungus.

But somehow I have the feeling it's not an easy (or quick) plant to grow.  In the wild, the whole process, from seed dispersal to flowing plant, takes at least 10, and as many as 17 years.  So when you see these beautiful flowers in the wild, know that they have worked long and hard to get where they are.

Loon update:  The pair is now actively looking for a nesting site;  keep a wide distance if you see them near shore.