We often think of orchids as exotic flowers found only in the tropics. Yet, many beautiful species are still growing in the meadows and partly shaded areas of our forests and even in the suburbs of some of our cities.
About 150 species are found within the United States and Canada, and, of course, the farther afield one stray from the thickly populated districts, the better the chances of finding them.
Some of these orchids rival the beauty of the tropical kinds, and even the small “botanical” species are very interesting when viewed with a magnifying glass, so we come to know them better.
Terrestrial Kinds Growing in Soil
Most of the native orchids are terrestrial kinds growing in soil like our better-known plants, but the sonic of those found in Florida and a few other southern states are epiphytic, growing attached to the bark of limbs and trunks of trees.
No nourishment is obtained from the sap of the trees to which they are attached, and not a single orchid is a parasite. Their nourishment is derived from the air, the decaying bark to which they are attached, and the occasional droppings of birds.
None of these epiphytic kinds are hardy; they must be grown like other orchids from warm climates.
Orchids which grow in the soil are usually very hardy and capable of withstanding great cold. Some, like the very beautiful little Calypso bulbosa (borealis), seem to thrive best as far north as Alaska.
How this delicate-looking little orchid can survive the extreme cold is a mystery that perhaps only Mother Nature can answer.
Interesting Wildflowers
As we become better acquainted with our native orchids, we love them not only because they are among the most beautiful of wildflowers but because they are interesting too. In them, we find some of the cleverest devices in all nature to ensure cross-pollination.
Of the more than 15,000 species of wild orchids found in various parts of the earth, only a few are capable of self-pollination; others would become extinct were it not for the visits of insects that carry off the pollen and affect fertilization of the orchid flowers.
In no other family of plants is there such great dependence upon the insects to achieve this end. The unusual shapes, colors, markings, and occasional fragrances of the flowers have resulted from this interdependence of the blossoms and insects.
Insects are attracted to the flowers to obtain nectar. Because of the specialized construction of the flowers, they come into contact with the sticky mass of pollen, known as pollinium.
They carry it off upon their backs or wings, which is likely to be deposited upon the stigma of the next flower visited.
Many of our native orchids illustrate these marvelous structural devices to a remarkable degree; observing and studying them is most interesting.
Charles Darwin said, “Nature abhors self-pollination.” This is more or less true of plants other than orchids. Still, the orchid family, through evolution processes, has carried the means of guarding against self-pollination farther than any other family of plants.
Beauty of Orchids
Man, in his egotism, credits the extraordinary beauty of orchids as an appeal to his esthetic senses, but Mother Nature had other ends in view when she developed the matchless shapes, colors, and markings of orchid flowers, namely, an appeal to the lowly insects to aid her in the struggle for existence.
So, as we chance upon the sonic of our native orchids when bog trotting, or if we have naturalized them in our wildflower garden, let us not only enjoy their great beauty but also give thought to their wonderful structures and adaptations to ensure the perpetuation of their kind.
Calopogon Pulchellus
One of the orchids that best illustrates the remarkable adaptation of its flowers to achieve cross-pollination is the beautiful grass pink orchid or Calopogon pulchellus, usually found in low ground or swamps.
The “labellum” or “lip” of the flower occupies the uppermost position in blossom, which was the original position of the lip of orchid flowers before nature found it more advantageous to have the labellum occupy the lower position.
(To achieve this better position of the labellum in orchids, a half twist of the pedicel (stem) occurred, and the higher types of orchids now have the lip or labellum in the lowest part of the flower.)
In the Calopogon or grass pink orchid, there is a tuft of hair situated upon the upper part of the lip, which is referred to in the “pogon” part of the name. This tuft of hair-like appendages seems to attract insects to alight upon this part of the lip.
The labellum or lip is hinged at its base, and the moment the insect alights, its weight causes the lip to fold down. The back of the insect then comes into contact with the sticky pollen, which adheres to its back and is carried off.
The stigma of the next flower visited is likely to receive pollen. Surely a clever design to achieve cross-pollination.
Lady Slippers or Cypripediums
These orchids also possess remarkable devices to ensure that the insect visiting their flowers pays for the nectar by carrying off the pollen. (Marjorie T. Bingham of the Cranbrook Institute of Science in Michigan states, “Darwin could find no nectar within the lip.
However, the tips of the hairs, which line the inner surface, secrete minute drops of slightly sticky fluid. If sweet or nutritious, these would suffice to attract insects.”)
The above applies especially to Cypripedium actinic or the “stemless orchid.” This is also known as the moccasin flower, whose slipper differs from the others in having no opening at the top of the slipper but rather a slit down the front through which the insects enter by crowding apart the two sides of the opening.
Once the insect has entered, the opening closes completely, and finds itself a prisoner.
The inner edges of the cleft are folded in, thus making it more difficult for the bee to escape by the route through which it entered.
The avenue of escape is found in the upper part of the flower on either side of the sticky pollen, and, in leaving, the insect is pretty certain to carry it away.
Some of the other lady slippers accomplish the same end by having the edges of the opening cuffed on the inner margins so that the insect finds difficulty in escaping and finally leaves by the same route as in the moccasin flower, coming into contact with the pollen and carrying it off.
Other orchids, especially the tropical kinds, have many different devices to attract insects and ensure that they carry the pollen as they leave the flower.
Some Native Orchids
When chancing upon a station of beautiful species, the temptation to take them up and move them to one’s wildflower garden is almost irresistible.
Fortunately, some of the wild species can be grown with considerable success if their natural habitat can largely be imitated, but if this cannot be done, the attempt is best not made.
Plants should not be taken from the wild but may be obtained from nurserymen specializing in wildflowers, and the prices are reasonable.
Late summer or autumn is considered the best time for planting, although at least one writer suggests planting just before blooming time. The location should be chosen, and the soil prepared well in advance.
Large Yellow Lady Slipper
Cypripedium parviflorum, a variety of pubescens, is one of the most beautiful of native species and perhaps the most certain to live after transplanting.
It frequently develops good-sized clumps. The largest and finest collection I have seen was in the garden of my friend, Philip D. Phair, an attorney in Maine.
There were hundreds of gorgeous yellow slippers in perfect condition, and they were of various shapes, which illustrated the tendency of this species to differ.
Morris and Eames, in their book “Our Wild Orchids” (which I consider a classic), state, “Extremes of the pubescens differ so remarkably in form and color that many botanists distinguish three kinds.”
One unusual form is white instead of yellow, much larger, and is thought to be an aberrant form of the large yellow. This remarkable plant was found in the mountains of Kentucky and sent to me. It has bloomed each year since.
The small, yellow parviflorum is also beautiful and has the fragrance of anise. This is found in swampy areas and is less easily naturalized than pubescens but is well worth growing.
As to culture, Edgar T. Wherry of the Botanical Laboratory and Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania states, “About the only sort of treatment to avoid is planting in the open sun in clay so dense as to impede the circulation of air, which, like all orchids, it needs around its roots.”
He states that the parviflorum “requires a circumneutral soil. Its roots spread on top of a bed of muck with a never failing supply of moisture.”
Moccasin Flower
Cypripedium acaule, or stemless orchid, is also called the moccasin flower. To see this beautiful pink slipper is to desire it for your garden. Unfortunately, it is the most difficult of wild orchids to transplant successfully.
Accounts of various attempts to meet its requirements reach me from many sources but always with the same ending. “They flowered the next year, came up the second year, but did not bloom, and disappeared the next year.”
It is well known that they require very acidic soil, and it is often seen in the wild in the partial shade of evergreens, which in shedding their leaves, causes a highly acid reaction in the soil.
My friend, Mr. Phair, who is so successful with other species, writes that he has made a planting using hemlock bark with the soil from a spruce swamp and hopes for success.
While the color of Cypripedium acaule is usually pink with veins of deeper color, a form has been found with so much color that the usually darker veins seem lighter than the rest of the slipper.
Then, too, there is a pure white type found mostly in the northeastern sections and, while associated with the pink type, exceeds them in number in some localities.
It is also possible to find many gradations of color from deep pink through lighter pinks to pure white, and when hunting in Maine, I was fortunate to find all of these and to photograph them.
These various shades are probably mutations from the dominant pink type and well illustrate the evolution in action.
In transplanting this orchid, some advice moving it with a good-sized piece of soil, but even this does not assure success, for, if kept moist with water that is neutral or alkaline, the soil soon loses its acidity and decaying pine needles or other acid material such as acid peat must be added to the soil. I would be interested in reports of any success in growing this orchid.
Queen’s Lady Slipper
The queen lady’s-slipper, Cypripedium reginae or Cypripedium spectabile, is pink and white. It is larger than the large yellow and grows taller. Its natural habitat is low swampy ground, yet it often thrives in higher locations.
Its preference is soil neutral in reaction, and it seems to be at its best in limestone regions. The large pink and white blossoms rival some of the finest tropical slippers in beauty, and a station of them in bloom is a thrill never to be forgotten.
This bears up quite well when transplanted, and when given moist, neutral soil with very little shade, it may become established and will be a joy each year when it flowers.
Habenarias
Among other native kinds worth growing are habenarias, such as the “small fringed” or psycodes and the larger fringed fimbriata.
The fimbriata is the most beautiful and has the delightful fragrance of cloves, similar to the carnation. Most habenarias do best in acid soil, but the psycodes will also thrive in neutral soil.
Prof. Edgar T. Wherry suggests sinking an old bathtub into the soil and filling it with the desired soil to grow bog-loving orchids. The drain outlet should probably be left open and water supplied as needed to maintain bog conditions.
While I have grown several species of native orchids with some degree of success, the experiences of others and my own cause me to sound a note of conservatism.
My readings also reveal considerable differences of opinion as to chances of success. Some succeed with certain species, while others fail with the same kinds.
The Bulletin of the American Orchid Society for 1934 contained a most valuable series of articles by Prof. Edgar T. Wherry of the University of Pennsylvania on many species of native orchids and their culture.
Marjorie T. Bingham of the Cranbrook Institute of Science of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, has also written a most interesting booklet on the orchids of Michigan and suggests methods of culture. “Our Wild Orchids,” by Eames and Morris, is a book that every lover of wild orchids should read. I have never found anything in the subject which excels it.
Wild Orchid Companions
Not only is it important to give orchids proper conditions but to attain the most pleasing effects, they should be grouped with other wild things much as we find them in nature.
Nature is an inimitable landscape artist, which often seems to apply to the locations where we find native orchids growing in the wild.
Try to duplicate these marvelously beautiful conditions. The low-growing ferns are among the most pleasing backgrounds but must be guarded against crowding the orchids.
Almost any wildflowers that bloom about the same time as the orchids and would not overshade or crowd them might be used. However, a lot of the orchids remain the attraction, not the other plantings.
Again, let me emphasize the application of the Golden Rule in obtaining wild orchids. Purchase the plants from a wildflower specialist rather than take them away from a spot where others may enjoy them, just as you do.
44659 by N Yarian