Troutbirder II

Troutbirder II
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Friday, July 15, 2016

Lady Slippers

It was just a no name road stretching south to the horizon in northeastern Iowa. Mostly farms and crops of corn and soybeans. Still we had stopped along a very large and weedy looking area because we knew it to be a special place we love dearly....
Nothing much to see driving by you say. You need to get out and look closer.....
 
There she is..... one of that special breed of native orchids. This is Cypripedium candidum - the white ladyslipper. Discovered in 1805, it ranged from New England to the Dakotas. Now, due to habitat destruction and thoughtless "collecting", it is extirpated in much of the East and very rare in the upper Midwest. It was found in wet meadows and prairie sites. Draining and plowing plus intensive pasturing did them in...
It had been more than ten years since I had seen   my of first  ones while  I was  visiting  this protected native prairie site just south  over the border in Iowa.  That is. first and only ones  till early this summer. The Hayden prairie site encompasses about 300 acres. It reportedly has never been tilled.   After taking  a  shot of Mrs. T and some late shooting stars, we continued down the road.           
 
It   wasn't very far when I spotted a completely different looking  clump of white. I was completely surprised to find several of these rare native orchids scattered among their more common (relatively) cousins the yellow ladyslippers. Take a look……
 

From April to November Hayden Prairie produces a regular parade of native wildflowers. I hope you enjoyed. We'll go back again and look for some more....:)
 

24 comments:

  1. Oh how wonderful! I've never seen those, though I have heard of them.
    What a find! I shall put this prairie on our "Must Do" list.
    You guys always look like you're having the greatest time. You two are marvelous. Happy Trails!

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  2. How wonderful, Trout! Beautiful photos! Enjoy your time, both of you! Hugs. :)

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  3. This is a first for me to see. I have looked at a bookstore of two people who have catalogued all the orchids in northern Iowa. I will have to go back and look at the book to see if they covered it and I just missed it. That is a gravel road. I sure hope that is not what they want to replace and clear all the ditches.

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  4. Beautiful! You have very sharp eyes, I must say.

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  5. Close ups of wildflowers are among my favorites. Thanks for this glimpse of these surviving blooms that I was not acquainted with.

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  6. I love lady slippers, and you now have shown me white ones, which I hadn't seen before. Wonderful indeed! :-)

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  7. I like native flowers and wish to see more land set aside for the,.

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  8. Appropriately named and so cute.

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  9. I am so glad they have found a place where man leaves them alone. What a marvelous find. They really do look like slippers.

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  10. Nice find. I'll have to make note of this because we do have the Luther College connection to NE Iowa. I'm on the lookout for the Purple Fringed Orchis in our woods.

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  11. I don't blame you for continuing to go back there. I've seen yellow ladyslippers, but never white ones.

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  12. Hi Troutbirder, I put Hayden Prairie into Google Maps and came up with Hayden Prairie State Wildlife Area just to get some perspective on where this wild prairie is in the USA. Very interesting! I guess some people would call me a "tree hugger" but I really wish we had done a better job of preserving more of the original prairie lands. This is very interesting about the white and yellow ladyslippers. First I've heard of these beauties. Thanks for sharing all this!

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  13. It's wonderful that they continue to thrive in certain areas.

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  14. Interesting and I think it is great you look for them.
    I came across a pink lady slipper in the Porcupine Mountains hiking in June. :-) Beautiful!!

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  15. perhaps it is common knowledge but i did not know they grew wild. they are beautiful and it is so amazing to find them growing wild!! this looks like a great spot for a road trip!!!

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  16. Delightful! So many cars will pass by without a thought to stop and look at these treasures. Ah, but Troutbirder and Mrs. T know better.

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  17. I love ladyslipper but haven't seen any this year.

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  18. That is Wonderful!!!! Worth a trip for sure! I'll have to check the map. :-)

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  19. Someone that was up there for a first time just saw these beauties and remarked how beautiful the prairie was

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  20. They are truly gorgeous flowers and so like a slipper. As your last photo suggests, we should get down on our knees more often to show our appreciation for them and the rest of Creation.

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  21. They are truly gorgeous flowers and so like a slipper. As your last photo suggests, we should get down on our knees more often to show our appreciation for them and the rest of Creation.

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  22. Such gorgeous blooms! I enjoyed seeing the midwestern cousins of our Maine lady's-slippers. It was also nice to see your wife's smile.

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  23. What a fabulous find! I enjoy visiting prairie sites, but one this large--and that has never been tilled--must be quite impressive.

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