Post #3050937

2026-06-02 12:33 UTC

When I worked at a nature sanctuary, we had lots of Pink Lady Slippers. Unfortunately, people would steal them, (presumably) to transplant them in their own yards. It isn’t that easy. Lady Slippers depend on a symbiotic relationship with fungi. More often than not, digging them up is a death sentence. We tried to educate people not to take them. When that didn’t work we put up “Keep Out - Poison Ivy!” signs on the edges of where they grew. That worked pretty well. #Flowers #BloomScrolling

Replies (7)

@tcgoetz@pixelfed.social 2026-06-02 12:38

I've been lucky enough to live on the edge of two different pine forests where they grow. I usually see them in my current yard, but none yet this year. Hopefully just because its been cold and everything is late.

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@pg1958@mastodon.sdf.org 2026-06-02 13:22

@danmccullough@ecoevo.social I remember finding them in pine woods as a kid in Massachusetts. Looks like that's where this specimen is growing.

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@RobotDiver@starlite.rodeo 2026-06-02 15:52

@danmccullough@ecoevo.social My whole young life we drove past a patch of them on a very large rock outcropping covered in moss. I knew about the symbiotic relationship so I decided the rock must be a magical place because of it. I hope it's still there.

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@UkeleleEric@mstdn.social 2026-06-02 16:04

@danmccullough@ecoevo.social If you actually want wild flowers in your garden, then you have to treat it as a wild nature sanctuary (for up to a decade) and they naturally appear. Some long-lived seeds may well have been dormant in the soil waiting for the right conditions. Others will be spread by wildlife, and the lack of pesticides and excessive tidying that many people indulge in, will encourage natural fauna and flora. My parents lawn has native local wildflowers in, only took 10 years without pesticides

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@djsouthworth@wandering.shop 2026-06-02 16:08

@danmccullough@ecoevo.social Social engineering is the best engineering.

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@Da_Gut@dice.camp 2026-06-02 20:34

@danmccullough@ecoevo.social decades ago my father transplanted some of these into the Pine Woods next to my folks old house because my mama really liked them. He knew to grab a big old chunk of dirt from around them. So they’ve grown there ever since. This year for the first time we found some on the other side of the house in another patch of Pinewoods. They are very pretty flowers.

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@m750@better.boston 2026-06-03 12:29

@danmccullough@ecoevo.social here's my little slipper. It's a part of new England that hits deep inside. Love how I just come across them, and can't control their appearance.

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