Wildflowers

Talk about sightings and get help identifying Plants, Animals, Fish, and Fungi. Share pictures and video.

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Jennifer
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Hey Brenda, I took a walk to find the lady's slippers yesterday. I went to the boardwalk as instructed and this is the first time in the last 2-3 years that I found something in bloom. However, the blooms are not the pink lady's slippers I was expecting. These are tiny white blooms on a single 'stem'. Is this some sort of "pre-bloom" to the pink flower? The leaves look like lady's slippers, they are at the board walk, and there are a ton of them just as everyone has told me. Here are some quick snapshots for identification purposes only.

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Brenda
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Those are Canada Mayflower a.k.a. Wild Lily-of-the-valley. The Lady's Slippers aren't as abundant, unfortunately, and they'll be before the boardwalk. The leaves will be quite a bit larger and elongated. I wish that I'd thought about it yesterday, when I had a "day off," as I could have taken a hike up there myself to check for any trace of them. I certainly hope that someone hasn't dug them up. It does happen.
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Jennifer
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Thanks, Brenda. Let me know if you have any luck.

I was just told of another place to look so I'll probably head there tomorrow or this weekend. I'll let you know if I find anything.
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Brenda
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We finally made it up to the Backbone Trail this afternoon. There was still no sign of the Lady's Slippers. It must just be too early. I did see the basal leaves of what may be another member of the Orchis family just coming up. I was amazed at the number of trees that were down along the trail though. Other than just being a pleasant hike, about the only thing that I saw was some coyote scat, which I can see on our trails here.
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Jennifer
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Brenda, thanks for the update.

I checked out someplace else last weekend and found a few of these. Am I getting closer? Are these the beginnings of them?

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Brenda
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:banana: That would be them! Do you have any idea what elevation you were at in relation to the spot on the Interloken Trail? Was it more of an open woods? I'm just trying to get a feel for how far behind the others are. I'm just going to have to check every week or so. It's a quick trip and an easy hike, if the mosquitoes and deer flies don't eat you alive first.
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Jennifer
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Not sure of the elevation.

How long do you think before the blooms will appear?

Btw, check your email.
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Brenda
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I've been looking all over for a definitive answer on how long it takes for them to bloom after the basal leaves appear, to no avail. Most of the information that I've found indicates that they bloom in May, but we know that elevation makes a big difference in all flowering plants. I'll keep looking, and thanks for the info!
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