Taxonomy
Family: Orchidaceae
Habitat
Apparently in some places this species occurs in moist acid soils in coniferous woods but in NY it is most common in limestone woods and northern white cedar swamps.
Associates
Distribution
Quebec to Manitoba, south to MA, NY, MI, and MN.
Morphology
Herbaceous perennial; stem slender, 10-40 cm, thinly hairy, with 2 or 3 sheathing scales below and 3-5 sessile leaves above the middle; leaf blades lanceolate to elliptic, often folded, 5-10 cm long, finely ciliate, otherwise glabrous; flowers solitary; sepals and lateral petals 1.5-2.5 cm, greenish-brown; upper sepal lanceolate, the lateral two separate, linear; lateral petals lance-linear, similar to the lateral sepals; lip whitish and usually strongly red-purple veined, 1.5-2.5 cm, prolonged downward into a conical pouch, the opening with numerous white hairs.
Notes
Flowers late May to early June
Wetland indicator: FAC
Differs from other eastern North American lady's slippers in having the lower two sepals separate and spreading rather than fused together for most other their length. It is rare throughout its range.
References
Gleason, Henry A.
and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States
and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY
Michael Hough © 2018 |