"orchids native to Alabama... nearly 60 species. ... the Kentucky Ladys Slipper, Cypripedium kentuckiense... In the wild, the Kentucky Ladys Slipper grows in the floodplains of streams and rivers. The plants are periodically inundated. Despite the southern distribution, this habitat always stays cool and somewhat moist, and the plants will not tolerate hot and dry conditions. The plant is often associated with azaleas, mountain laurels and bellworts under the dappled shade of birch trees. The substrate is alluvial sand with a little clay, silt and humus. ... The Kentucky Ladys Slipper orchid... This is the largest flowered Cypripedium species. The pouch [lip] of the flower is the size of a chicken egg... its pouch is... soft yellow with long, twisting bronze sepals.
There are three other species of lady slipper orchids growing in Alabama that bloom during May the yellow ladys slipper, the showy ladys slipper and the pink ladys slipper. ... also blooming right now, are the ladies tresses orchids, Spri[ir]anthes, named for the... spiral arrangement of its tiny white to greenish flowers. There are almost 12 species of this orchid [genus] growing in Alabama. The ones I am most familiar with show up in disturbed areas in the pine forest in May and in grassy meadows in late summer. Because of their habit of colonizing disturbed ground, one author describes them as having weed-like tendencies. The species in flower now is the earliest of all the ladies tresses. It is also one of the tallest approaching four feet. They are usually found in damp soils in meadows or pine barrens. Other habitats include rocky soil, wet pastures, sandy soil, broad shallow roadsides and moist sandy clay. All of the orchids mentioned are blooming in Alabama this month... Resist the temptation to bring one of these beauties home with you. Native orchids are difficult to transplant. Many have narrow growing requirements which include specific fungi in the soil." URL : http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20080519/news/662442637&tc=yahoo **************** Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
