The pink and white lady's slipper (Cypripedium reginae), also knows as the showy lady’s slipper, was adopted as Minnesota's state flower in 1902. Found living in open fens, bogs, swamps, and damp woods where there is plenty of light, lady's slippers grow slowly, taking up to 16 years to produce their first flowers. They bloom in late June or early July. The plants live for up to 50 years and grow four feet tall.
A century ago, the showy lady’s slipper was a favorite adornment in rural church altars during the summer. Since 1925 this rare wildflower has been protected by state law (it is illegal to pick the flowers or to uproot or unearth the plants).
I took these photos Sunday afternoon, 13 June 2010, on the Johnson family farm in Clearwater County, near Clearwater Lake. I had never noticed them growing in this area before, but the colorful blooms couldn't be missed Sunday - wow! I was so excited because I absolutely love the lady's slipper - gorgeous blooms!
We made the trip north for Burton's cousin's funeral on Saturday. His cousin, Dale TeHennepe, age 69, was diagnosed with cancer about a year ago. We also helped Burton's mom, Arleen, celebrate her 82nd birthday Sunday, 13 June. We made her several good meals, brownies and angelfood cake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.
It was a cloudy, rainy weekend over a wide area. Burton hoped to clean out our boat, but didn't want to work out in the drizzle, so found another clean-up project in the shed.
Beautiful photos!! You can move the plants if they are on private property and you have permission of the property owner. It is Illegal to dig or pick them from public property.
ReplyDeletehere is the statute:
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has responsibility for administering the statutes and
granting permits for the sale of wildflower species listed in Chapter 18H.18.
Wildflower collection by individuals for personal use (that is, transplanted to their own property and not
offered for sale) is an issue between the property owner (whether public or private property) and the individual
wishing to collect plants from that property.
I am not sure why anyone would want to move them, perhaps if they were on a building site or on a trail. I have a friend on Elbow Lake and her neighbor had them coming up between the rocks in a pathway. We had a Greenhouse for a number of years and my husband sold Tissue Cultured Lady's Slippers from Spangle Creek Labs up in Bovey. Many customers had good results with them, we have two patches of yellow ones on our property, one that was here and one that we planted. I love them, they are one of the best things about Minnesota:)