Photo by Carl Wells
Showy Lady's Slipper is a perennial, native wildflower in Wisconsin. It grows one to three feet tall. The flower is two to three inches tall with three white, pointed, upper sepals and a large, inflated, pink and white petal below the sepals. The petal is often veined in dark pink. The basal leaves grow up to ten inches long and two inches wide. They have deeply ribbed parallel veins which clasp the stem. Smaller upper leaves also clasp the stem. It grows in sun and some shade in swamps, moist woodlands, and along streams.
This orchid blooms between May and July in Wisconsin, with individual flowers lasting seven to fourteen days. While it is admired for its beauty, it is challenging to cultivate and historically difficult to transplant from the wild. However, recent advancements in sterile seed culture have made nursery-grown plants more viable for enthusiasts. The Showy Lady’s Slipper is pollinated primarily by syrphid flies, beetles and bees. Despite its allure, it is not commonly used as a garden plant due to its specific habitat needs, preferring wetlands and moist woods. Additionally, its glandular hairs can cause skin irritation, making handling tricky. Conservation efforts are crucial, as habitat loss and over-collection have led to population declines. This orchid can live up to fifty years, though it may take sixteen years to flower for the first time. (LS)