I awoke this morning to a bright sunny and decided it was the perfect time to go for a walk with the camera. It was NOISY out there with the constant hum of hungry mosquitoes.

I headed down towards the trail where I found about 7 Cyp. acaule growing last spring. On the way though, I spied an area which looked as though it may have been good habitat and headed off the trail and though I found no Lady Slippers there, it brought me out on a section of trail on the way to the Cyp. trail and lo and behold, SLIPPERS! I found only one in bloom in that area, but counted about 10 others that had no inflorescence, so not sure what's going on there. Nearby, I found another in bloom, and a few more not blooming. I continued down the trail and found the one's I had seen last year blooming again. One was almost white! Continuing down the trail, I counted eighteen blooming Cyps. in all. All within probably an area of less than 1/4 mile. Then, abruptly, nothing more in either direction. Habitat was hardwood and white pine. No hemlock - I had to get back to get ready for work, so I haven't checked the other trails yet but I hope to get out again in the next day or so.

Here are some of the photos I took.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/ahmcd33/fa0dc37a.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/ahmcd33/7eb79585.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/ahmcd33/aa48c448.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/ahmcd33/631d3549.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/ahmcd33/56d1b428.jpg

Here's the almost alba one
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/ahmcd33/fd54c5f6.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/ahmcd33/b7814aa0.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/ahmcd33/756a3813.jpg

This was my favorite! Go Slipper, go!
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/ahmcd33/6a39fdd3.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/ahmcd33/1d1e032a.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/ahmcd33/71956364.jpg

Excellent! :clap2: Thanks for posting!

Georgous! Glad you were able to get out between the showers and the bugs! We are probably at least one week behind you here in Maine. I revisited the one spike I was able to find with my daughter and it was in the spot that she recalled seeing quite a few. Now much left now, and only that one spike. I wonder whether they are being poached ?

The brave one poking up from under the log is really neat!

Mine are really obvious if you are looking for them, which worries me actually. Also, I wonder what is up with so many not blooming in that one area. They were getting nibbled on by something also, thre were some holes in the leaves.

I''d really like to go out again if I ever have a day off and it clears up - if I hadn't gone this morning....well, it rained all afternoon. :roll:

It is so wild to me that these natives are growing in my woods and their tropical cousins in my living room! :joy: I love these plants!

Nice! I wish I had gotten out weeks ago to check ours.

The ones in my area were all stripped and poached and I may never see them there again! :mad:

That's too bad. My friends wife dug up about a hundred cyps or so last year that were going to be destroyed by a new housing complex. She replanted them in some protercted woods, near her house. I wonder if they did anything this year?

very nice :clap2:

very nice slippers - pink is my favorite acaule. If many were not blooming and if they looked large enough to bloom, perhaps the habitat is borderline for pH. In the acaule sites I follow the pine duff is very thick with little else, or in one case, the medium is a meadow that was formerly a pond/lake and has lots of low pH peat. I see lots of hardwood leaves in your photos and that usually means a higher pH. Since the hardwoods will outcompete pines in many instances, I wonder if there were more pines and lower pH and you are now going toward a more climax forest situation?

Ron Burch

Ron, that's what I noticed also. I was surprised to see so much oak debris. However, the understory in that area was white pine. Just babies growing (as you can see in one photo) but perhaps that is a good sign.

If I remember correctly the pink lady slippers were protected in Mass. We had a few growing in our back yard in Attleboro as a kid. My parents always told us to leave them alone. They were very pretty! Not sure what they look like anymore.

If I remember correctly the pink lady slippers were protected in Mass. We had a few growing in our back yard in Attleboro as a kid. My parents always told us to leave them alone. They were very pretty! Not sure what they look like anymore.

I forgot you grew up there, you know RickL is there now working this week? Maybe you can give him some sight seeing tips!

Yes, they are protected here. I was talking with my mother last night about my memories of being told not to pick them and her response was "Well, you picked EVERYTHING!" :roll:

I just got back from going out to map the location of our Cyp. acaule and found four more, just off the trail right close to my house! One just out of bloom and three that hadn't bloomed this year. We walked down to see the other two areas, and there were several that were still quite fresh, so I pollinated them. All the others either had dried up blossoms or were fading. Glad I went out again and got to see some more.

Also saw some false and true Solomon's Seal, though I never remember which is which, and tons of Indian Cucumber, several in bloom which I hadn't seen in person, and a very cute bright green snake!

nice cyp pics!!