Trivia question of the day: which state has more native orchid species, Wisconsin or Hawaii? The answer is at the end of this post.
Yesterday after work we went to explore a natural area I hadn’t been to before – Almon Park Trail, on Buck Lake. One section of the trail is a boardwalk through a really lovely bog. With the leatherleaf in bloom, its clusters of white flowers everywhere, it looked like a fairyland.
But the absolute best part was this:
I had never seen a lady’s-slipper before. Last summer I got here too late in the season to see them in bloom, and I’d been looking forward to them all winter. When one in full flower greeted us as soon as we stepped onto the boardwalk, I literally jumped up and down a couple times. Specifically, this beautiful beautiful orchid is Pink Lady’s Slipper, Cypripedium acaule. There were a LOT of them along the entire length of the boardwalk.
And one more wildflower before I let you go – this is Blue Bead Lily, Clintonia borealis.
Come August I’ll have to do a then-and-now post with photos of this one and bunchberry in fruit compared to flowering. Then you’ll see why it’s called Blue Bead Lily!
Answer: Wisconsin. (You figured out that this must be a trick question, right?) Hawaii has three native orchids. Wisconsin has around forty-five!
Wow, great looking bog! Dig that little leopard frog, haha. And yes, I figured it was a trick question, but I still think that’s crazy!
I dig the frog, too–but I also love those big fat leaves holding up those dainty little flowers on the blue bead lily! Mother Nature is a strange decorator!
I love bogs and marshes. The mosquitoes are problematic though. They do protect the orchids!
Lady slippers are blooming here in Massachusetts, too. I saw the first ones on Sunday and more yesterday in a different area.
A boardwalk into the woods is so evocative. You just want to go down the trail.
It’s almost magical — and this from a real materialist — to see a lady slipper.
Pingback: blue bead lily then, blue bead lily now | Rebecca in the Woods