Monday, May 18, 2009

Childhood 'Truth' Debunked

Growing up, I thought that lady's slipper orchids were rare. We'd go down into the backwoods to the one spot where the bloomed. And over time, they stopped blooming there, and I though, wow, they must be just about extinct now...

And then I grew up, and moved to Townsend MA.

It's blooming season for the Pink Lady's Slipper orchid. I went for a short walk in the backwoods (here) this weekend. And I found a multitude of Pink Lady's Slipper orchids. In one 10 x 10 area, I counted a colony of 38 orchids! They're everywhere here! I feel like I've found a lost treasure! So I went back to the house and got the camera, so I could share with you.



Since then, I've done some research. The Pink Lady's Slipper orchid is listed in NY, where I grew up, as "Exploitably Vulnerable due to loss of habitat and exploitation". I also have my own theory that the backwoods (back home in NY) was logged enough for firewood that the orchids didn't make it. They seem to be very fragile flowers. They can't even be transplanted because they won't make it without their fungus symbiot. That's some dependent lady! Makes me think they're royalty... Or Goa'uld...

Elsewhere in New England, they're listed as "Secure (common, widespread and abundant)". My research also turned up that they do better in acidic pine forests, which I live amongst here, versus deciduous forests, which were back in NY.

So, one more childhood 'truth' has been debunked. I now no longer think that:
  • Pink Lady's Slipper orchids are almost extinct
  • Red and Gray squirrels don't occupy the same territory because they don't get along
  • Snakes eat strawberries
  • My mom can change traffic lights to green with her mind
Oh, and here's a little Red Eft (so cute!), that I saw on my walk, too. Enjoy!

1 comment:

Evan said...

That red eft is what she turned me into. But it got better.