White Lady Slippers

[CINDERSMOM]

Cinder and I were hiking up the Stairs Col Trail from the Rocky Branch Trail today and noticed a lot of Lady Slippers along the trail. But they were white!! I wondered if they had been pink and just faded but there were also pink ones along the trail. After googling white lady slippers it appears they are rare and don't grow this far east. Has anyone else seen any "white" lady slippers. Unfortunately I didn't have a camera with me.

 

[Bob Kittredge]

I'm not sure whether they're a true white, or just a very pale pink, but I very much doubt they're pinks that have faded with time.

While not nearly as common as the pink, I see white lady slippers fairly often. In particular, I noticed a stand of nine of them beside the parking lot for the Great Gulf trail on June 7.

 

[Early Bird]

I saw a bunch last weekend in the North Conway area. I have pictures, but am not sure how to attach them. I tried the paper clip icon, but that failed.

 

[Silverfox]

white lady slippers

We saw several clusters of white ladies slippers on Unknown Pond Trail tuesday.. They seem to come out a little later than the pink ones.

Also caught a few on the Edmunds Path last week


very graceful and majestic plant..

 

[bobandgeri]

We saw some on Valley Way a couple of weeks ago on BobC's 48th on Madison. The thread over on ROT has photos posted by HikerBob, Dave Metsky, and PosionIvy that include a shot of the white lady slipper:

http://www.rocksontop.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=5877

 

[nartreb]

Most likely what you saw was a color variation on pink lady's slippers, Cypripedium acaule. Some are really pale pink, others are truly white.

various shades of Cypripedium acaule (scroll down a little for the white ones)

"White lady's slipper" usually refers to C. candidum, a different species. They're very rare, but a few occur in Connecticut and New York.

 

[The Unstrung Harp]

I wonder if all the moisture as of late has done the biological equivalent of "washing out" the pigment. If is completely ridiculous to think that this could be possible?

I was wondering this earlier this week when munching some local strawberries. Mmm....But many had more white areas than they should have...

Hope some experts will chime in.

 

[Tom Rankin]

I wonder if all the moisture as of late has done the biological equivalent of "washing out" the pigment. If is completely ridiculous to think that this could be possible?

Here are 2 samples from recent hikes in the Whites.

Garfield in late May

Glen Ellis Falls (near Pinkham) in June

 

[CINDERSMOM]

SOOO, Are they faded pink ones or "rare" white ones?? Anyway, they were pretty cool to see. I have a wildfolwer guide book that puts the lady slippers with the yellow flowers and has a pictur of a yellow lady slipper. Has anyone ever seen a yellow one?

 

[darren]

Yes, pure white lady slippers do exist in New England. If you are lucky you might even find them right in your own yard...

Aloha

- darren

 

[am&pm]

We have about 100 of mixed white and pink ladyslippers behind our camp on Bean Mnt every year. I have pictures of these, but don't know how to post them. They last for about three weeks and are a joy to view.

 

[cushetunk]

There are several species of lady slipper in New England. Like nartreb already said, the white ones that everyone has posted about are the common pink lady slipper (Cypripedium acaule). I think the flower color is genetic, so while certain weather conditions might favor one variety over another, I don't think the pigment is being "washed out".

Cypripedium acaule is also the only lady slipper without stem leaves, which can help identify it. The others all have alternating stem leaves.

There are also species of yellow-flowered Cypripedium, which are in New England but rare, and probably most are found in bogs -- not where hikers typically are.