Moccasin-flower

Nature, Orchids of Manitoba, Wild Flowers, Wild flowers of Manitoba,

 

Today I went in search of more orchids. I started out at Belair Provincial Forest. The orchids I was looking for reside in dry pine forests, unlike most other Manitoba orchids. It was extremely hot today. In fact it was so hot even the mosquitos did not venture out. Only mad dogs and orchid nuts go out in the mid day sun.

I found what I was looking for.  Moccasin-flower or Pink Lady’s-slipper as it is sometimes called. I don’t really think they look pink. More maroon I would say.

The name for orchids is derived from the Greek word ὄρχις (orchis)which means testicle. Looking at the moccasin flower you might think you knew why. But you would be wrong.  The name actually was used in reference to the underground tuberoids of orchis that are supposed to resemble testicles.

Orchids created by adultery (sort of)

Orchids of Manitoba, Wild Flowers, Wild flowers of Manitoba,

 

Sometimes the orchid world reveals sins. Those sins include deception, trickery or adultery.  Previously I have shown you Small White Lady’s Slipper and Large or Small Yellow Lady’s Slippers.  The Whites are very rare. But there is something even more rare hybrids between the Whties and the Yellows. These are created by adulterous relations between 2 different species that have produced offspring.

 

The offspring are called Cypripedium Xandrewsii.   Last year I had the fortune to see these in Manitoba. You can see that their colour is sort of a creamy white from the different shades of the two parents.

Small Yellow Lady’s-slipper

Orchids of Manitoba, ,

 

Sometimes the stars align. I was just thinking that I had not yet seen the Northern Small Yellow Lady’s-slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum var. makasin) when I got an email from a friend who said some were blooming just across the road from his home not far from where I live. As soon as possible I headed out.

The Small Yellow Lady’s-slipper is very similar to the Large Yellow Lady’s-slipper. In fact some botanists claim there is only one species. On the other hand some believe that there is a third yellow species with fairly flat lateral sepals.  Don’t think these issues are not important to orchids nuts.  I am a member of Native Orchid Conservation Inc. an organization dedicated to the preservation of native orchids and other plants. a few years ago  a former President of our organization threatened to sue our current President at the time for denying in a radio interview that there was a 3rd species in. Most botanist disagreed asserting there are only 2 species, but our former President was passionate that there were 3. As a lawyer I am of course reluctant to say litigation is not a good thing, but this was pretty ridiculous. The orchid world is filled with fanatics. Thank goodness they rarely lead to jihads.

The Small Yellow Lady’s-slipper is smaller than the Large. That is why some say the smaller ones are just stunted large ones. The Small Yellow Lady’s-slipper also has darker petals and sepals as you can see from my photograph.

Prairie Gems: Northern small white lady’s-slipper

Orchids of Manitoba

 

Yesterday, I found two of Manitoba’s lady’s-slippers. Last night I posted photos of the Large Yellow Lady’s-slipper. It is the most common of Manitoba’s lady’s-slippers. I also saw the most rare of our Lady’-slippers. The Northern small white lady’s-slipper (Cypripedium candidum), is usually found in moist prairies or ditches in different parts of southern Manitoba. I found these in the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve, one of my favorite places. They are very difficult to find, even when you know where to look because they are so low to the ground.

This orchid is in danger of extirpation. That means it could disappear from Canada. That would be a big loss. That is why they are listed under Canada’s Species at RiskActand Manitoba’s Endangered Species and Ecosystems Act.

 

These orchids are so rare because so much of the prairies have been converted to farms, homes and businesses. Added to that, too many people pick them (after all they are so beautiful) and they suffer from agricultural spraying and mowing. It seems strange but these flowers also miss prairie fires that used to help them against their competitive plants.

We need to work hard to save such beauties. I think its worth the effort. Don’t you?

Large-Yellow Lady’s-slippers

Orchids of Manitoba, Wild Flowers, Wild flowers of Manitoba

 

With an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 species, depending on how you count, the Orchid Family (Orchidaceae) is one of the largest flowering-plant families. Found on all continents except Antarctica, orchids inhabit a wide range of environments, from the mountains to prairies, from bogs to fairly dry pine forests,  and from the arctic to tropical forests. They also vary from spectacularly gorgeous flowers (some of which I hope to show you) to plain Jane “little green jobs” (which I also hope to show you).

I went to two of those habitats today. One was boggy areas right beside the road. I went to one of my favorite bogs near Woodridge, not far from home, and did not have to go in. The orchids I was looking for were in the ditch right beside the road and I spotted them from the car as I drove. That was easy because the the Yellow lady’s-slipper is the largest of Manitoba’s lady’s-slippers.  Manitoba has a surprising 37 species of orchids with 2 separate varieties. As well there are 3 hybrids.

What is an orchid? A characteristic feature of the orchid flower is the lip or labellum that is actually a modified petal. It serves as helipad for flying insects.  The lip is usually different from the other 2 petals in shape, size, coloring, and markings. So it has 3 sepals and 3 petals.

Of course crime is common among orchids and not just orchid lovers. Most flowers and most orchids rely on cross-pollination for reproduction and the most common instrument for this are the insects. Usually they attract the insects by color and scent and then reward them for showing up to pick up pollen and deliver it to other individuals, but the lady’s-slippers are tricky. They don’t give up any nectar as a reward so really they cheat the insects.

 

This is the early stage of the Large Yellow-Lady’s-slipper.

A lot of people don’t realize that Lady’s-slippers are orchids.  We actually have 6 different types in Manitoba. In the lady’s-slippers  family (Cypripedium), the lip is conspicuous and resembles  a pouch.  The pouch is formed when 2 lateral sepals fuse to form a flower prominently formed as a pouch. Usually, the two lateral sepals located at the bottom of the flower are fused to form a single sepal.

 

This is the very early stage of the Large Yellow-Ladys-slipper when only green is visible.

In 1995, the World Wildlife Fund rated lady’s-slippers as among the 10 most wanted plants 
or animals threatened by illegal and unsustainable trade. I have seen many holes representing captured flowers. That is always a pity, as I strongly believe the plants should be left in the wild to preserve their genetic diversity of the plants and also to leave them for others to enjoy. Partly because of digging by humans the numbers of orchids in the wild in Manitoba have seriously declined. I belong to an organization called Native Orchid Conservation Inc. which is trying to preserve orchids and other wild flowers.

Because lady’s-slippers are different from most other orchids, some botanists have been arguing that they should be excluded from the family of orchids. This would be a monstrous crime and  would warrant revolution! We have 6 types of lady’s-slippers in Manitoba. Today I saw two. One was the Large Yellow Lady’s-slipper(Cypripedium parviflorumSalisbury var. pubescens). This is the most common form of lady’s-slipper in Manitoba.

 

 

A Young Humanitarian in the Family

Family

 

We attended the Manitoba Teachers Society young Humanitarian Awards.  One of the awards was given to Luxton School  and its Grades 4,5, and 6 members of a group called Kuamini.  This group included 24 students including our very own  own granddaughter Emma.  This group earned the award as a result of their school project to raise awareness, funds, or items for local charities and global initiatives.  The plans for Kuamini, we were told, are always student generated. The group has raised funds for a family that lost their home in a fire, helped to provide medicine and raised awareness to end child labour in Ethiopia, Haiti and rural China. They’ve raised their voices to support Pink Shirt Day and to end bullying. They’ve held an assembly to talk about the 94 calls to action for Truth and Reconciliation. They’ve taught their fellow students about residential schools on Orange Shirt Day. They are the bright, shining stars of the Luxton community.We are proud of them. In particular of course, we are proud of Emma.

Emma was of course not the only award winner. I was very impressed by Alliana Rempela young 11-year from Arborg with a lot of accomplished under her belt. She has written a book that was endorsed by Malala on the cover. It is a child’s book on human rights.  She’s helped local charities bring Syrian refugees to the community and then spent time during summer holidays tutoring the Syrian newcomers and making them feel at home in the community.  When she was five she sold pictures she painted to raise money for a youth shelter. When she was 8 year’s old she raised over $2,000 for the Malala fund by selling her art in 5 different countries. She has not stopped. Her current project is to sell her book and use the proceeds to build a school in Nicaragua. I could not resist buying a copy. I loved her line in the book: “Beating Bad with Beauty.” Pretty good for an 11-year old author. I loved her flawlessly delivered speech in which she thanked the Syrian refugees for coming to their town and teaching her what life was like in Syria. Can you imagine how her life was enriched by refugees? And we worry about the dangers of refugees

We were proud of her too along with all the other young humanitarians. Makes me wonder, what have I done nearing 70?

We were proud of her too along with all the other young humanitarians. Makes me wonder, what have I done? Emma, Alliana and all the other young humanitarians, you are special. Thanks.

 

PS I have not posted a photo of the group as I did not have permission from all 24 of them

Life is good when the world blossoms

Wild flowers of Manitoba,

 

 

 

Spring is the time for blossoms

 

These are blossoms from our yard or our neighbour’s yard.

 

The flower of a plant is the reproductive structure that is found in all flowering plants.  Blossoms are flowers, but the word is usually confined to the flowers of fruit bearing trees such as apples, pears, plums, cherries and the like which bloom particularly in spring. Blossoms are usually white.

Life is good when the world blossoms.

Calypso

Orchids of Manitoba, Wild Flowers, Wild flowers of Manitoba, ,

 

Today I made my third attempt to locate and photograph the lovely native orchid—Calypso or Fairy-slipper. Finally it made its appearance. It was the first orchid of the year. Twice before I drove all the way to the Sandilands only to be disappointed. There was no disappointment today.  as a result, there was rejoicing at the Neufeld residence, sort of like the rejoicing in heaven when the prodigal son returned.

This is a tiny but lovely orchid. Perhaps the most lovely.  I really cannot say which is my favorite orchid. Asking me what my favorite orchid is would be like asking me who is my favorite son or favorite grandchild. But this one is certainly in the running.

One unusual thing about this orchid is that it has only one leaf and that appears at the base in the autumn. It remains green all winter long on the ground at the base of the flower underneath the snow. What is up with that?