I spend so much time in untrammeled forests this time of year that I am overwhelmed by the profusion of ephemerals. When I get home at night, I am too tired to compose an article. In fact, I’m fortunate if I can keep up with my notes.

Pink and white lady slippers can be found singularly or in clusters, often near blue bead lilies, and each year, many of us seek out these latter beauties, including me! They like their own company, so you will often find clusters together, but sometimes not. Because it takes many years for each to bloom, it is important to cultivate patience. This year, I saw some small leaves that indicated new plants, but also noted the absence of flowers on adult leaves on too well-trodden paths. It is possible to find lady slippers in meadows, hills, on top of mountains, or in the lowlands. Our window for seeing them is a brief one, so when the Lady Slippers begin to appear, be on the lookout.

This year, I found pink and white Lady slippers that were still nestled in their hoods and was able to document their blooming cycle.

Most sites will tell you that these flowers are still common, but overall, most orchids are declining. Habitat destruction from logging, etc, and too much foot/machine traffic compacts the soil are reasons for decline. We don’t have any idea what the mycelial networks are doing underground to attempt to compensate. Root diggers also damage populations, selling the roots as garden plants or as medicinal herbs. Collecting orchids for gardening, another primary reason for their disappearance, even though the reality is that lady slippers almost always die from transplanting, even if they last a season or two.

In Maine, we have four different types of orchids. Because virtually everyone uses apps to identify and classify plants and flowers, I see no reason to include that kind of information here.

Just yesterday, I checked a couple of places where my favorite yellow orchids grow and was delighted to see some blooming. These orchids have multiple hybrids, but the clumps I visit in different places seem to have similar markings. Flowers can be pale or deep buttery yellow, have dark wine twisted wings, but all are covered with fine hairs. The ones I visit have bright yellow flowers. The growth habits of yellow orchids differ from the pink and white orchids because the stalks are twisted and often appear in clumps of four or five. Where they grow is anyone’s guess!

All lady slipper orchids are pollinated by bees and carpenter ants, to mention a few possibilities. Once pollinated, a seed pod appears, and if ants don’t move the seeds, the wind will.

I am including a photo that looks just like the ones I saw yesterday, but I am protecting the location just in case.

I hope to visit the other yellow orchids today to see if they are blooming as well.

Many people don’t realize that we have other wild orchids around, but most come later, and because they are so small that most people overlook them.