Weird & Wonderful Flowers
Yellow and Purple
Lady Slippers
This is an extremely rare type of wild
orchid found across Europe. Britain’s
only example of this plant, which used to
be more common and widespread, can
be found on a golf course and has been
under strict police protection since 1917.
A single cutting can be sold for US$5000,
which is shocking as the plant is very
difficult to propagate. Its seeds bear no
nourishment for the growing plant, so it
lives in a symbiotic relationship with a
specific type of fungus, which provides it
with nourishment, until the adult leaves
can produce enough nourishment for
the plant, at which time the fungus will
also live off it. There are many types of
Lady slipper orchids, many of which are
rare. This specific type, has dark purple
to almost red brown tendrils with a bright
yellow “slipper or moccasin.”
20
Bloom | Spring 2018
Cypripedium calceolus