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It's more specifically the root balls (tuberoids) from the Orchis genus.
Oh, and the singular flowers of some species even look like naked little men.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchis#/media/File%3AOrchis_italica_a.JPG
Good to know, thank you! I had assumed that it was a pitcher plant just because it had an opening on the top of the pink, bulbous part where it looked like insects could potentially fall in. Pretty neat that it’s a type of orchid though, very cool!
As far as Northeastern Orchids go, they're actually quite common. Most people have never even heard of - let alone seen - the four other Lady's Slipper species in the region.
https://preview.redd.it/y8cfn87ff8yc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b3b21a02af4b33d73bd1dd0d519647df986773e6
I think they may even be the most-observed Orchid in the US as a whole. Still one of my favorite species, though!
Like others said that's a pink lady slipper! While you can often find pink lady slippers growing next to pitcher plants, pink lady slippers can grow in a wider variety of habitats than pitcher plants. If its pitcher plants you seek you need to look in bogs and that soil looks too dry and rocky to support pitcher plants. Try seeing if there are any bog walks near by they often have pitcher plants in view to enjoy along with other botanical wonders
Definitely Cypripedium acaule! Nice find. As an FYI, the pitcher plants you’re likely to see are Sarracennia purpurea, the purple pitcher plant, and look like this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarracenia_purpurea
The pink lady slipper is actually an orchid (same family as the ones you find in the grocery store, vanilla, and an insane number of other plants) Orchids are one of the most diverse families out there, but tend to grow from a little bulb in the ground and have very showy flowers.
Pitcher plants tend to grow in marshy/boggy areas (like most carnivorous plants) where soil nutrients are terrible. They evolved to eat bugs to get the missing nutrients.
Very cool stuff! I wasn’t aware that was why pitcher plants dissolved insects to get their missing nutrients whereas other plants get theirs from the soil around them. Thank you for the Information, friend!
No problem! Every single plant has a little quirk like that that helps it survive. They’re like little puzzles to figure out that all fit into a massive overall picture. I’d strongly recommend Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t (/r/cpbbd) who does a great job breaking down the ways plants all fit together
I've seen many different kinds of orchids on Brier Island NS, but funny thing is that pink lady slippers weren't one of them. But I did see a couple on the hike to Cape Split one time in Scots Bay.
Pink lady slippers are common throughout Canada though, especially boggy areas with sphagnum peat moss growing. Seems they tolerate acidity.
They actually require it. Someone figured out 20-25 years ago that they need super-low pH to survive, which is why transplanting them almost always failed. Turns out they need a pH under about 4.0, or they perish.
Interestingly, they do just fine at a higher pH when grown in the lab. Nobody knows why.
Steal part of his yard lol. They need something super specific to grow and I don't recall if it was a mycelium/bacteria/acid vs base thing... But I know it's specific! Unless they've found a way to grow them indoors, or similar....
(Joking btw, I would be JEALOUS AF, *as a neighbor. I would love to find them growing in my yard! 😭😭😭😭😭😭)
*Clarification
They do indeed need mycelium to germinate from seed as the seeds have no energy packs to germinate on their own!
and I believe Cypripedium have a pollination/fertilisation rate of 7%-10% due to the fact they produce no nectar and no loose pollen for insects to take, therefore no reward. It’s amazing they survive the way they have done
Western MD, specifically on a pretty well known trail leading to Annapolis Rock (a scenic lookout). Surprised they had survived without anyone poaching them as apparently they are pretty rare lol
I know you're trying to make a joke about balls, but orchids don't have traditional pollen, they instead have a structure called a pollinia, which is basically just all the pollen in a sac (quite like balls). The pollinia is in the column at the center of the flower, which here is enclosed by the lip, which is intended to temporarily trap the creature inside to encourage the exchange of the pollinia.
Thank you for posting to r/whatsthisplant. **Do not eat/ingest a plant based on information provided in this subreddit.** For your safety we recommend not eating or ingesting any plant material just because you've been advised that it's edible here. Although there are many professionals helping with identification, we are not always correct, and eating/ingesting plants can be harmful or fatal if an incorrect ID is made. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatsthisplant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yes it is! That's awesome you got to see one!
Awesome, thank you! I had never seen one before. Very pretty!
The old pink woodland nutsack.
Once you see it you can't unsee it!
It's the first thing I saw, what does that say about me?
That "orchid" literally means ballsack-like?
That your sex ed was adequate.
Seriously, I get that it’s rare and an orchid but goddamn it looks like a dismembered, shorn scrotum. The yellow version isn’t nearly as offputting.
I named it pink ballsack flower before finding out the actual identity. Petition to rename it?
TIL: The name 'orchid' is derived from the greek word for 'testicle'. Not just coincidence! (Sorry can't add link on phone)
It's more specifically the root balls (tuberoids) from the Orchis genus. Oh, and the singular flowers of some species even look like naked little men. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchis#/media/File%3AOrchis_italica_a.JPG
That link is worth a click, everybody!
That’s amazing! Lol!
I had something very similar. Trip to the doctors and a course of antibiotics, it cleared right up.
🤣
Pink lady slippers are a terrestrial orchid and very different from pitcher plants
Good to know, thank you! I had assumed that it was a pitcher plant just because it had an opening on the top of the pink, bulbous part where it looked like insects could potentially fall in. Pretty neat that it’s a type of orchid though, very cool!
Ahhhh Red Dead Redemption!
Wow, it is! A rare find
As far as Northeastern Orchids go, they're actually quite common. Most people have never even heard of - let alone seen - the four other Lady's Slipper species in the region. https://preview.redd.it/y8cfn87ff8yc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b3b21a02af4b33d73bd1dd0d519647df986773e6 I think they may even be the most-observed Orchid in the US as a whole. Still one of my favorite species, though!
That’s good news. I’m glad to find I’m misinformed in this case!
Like others said that's a pink lady slipper! While you can often find pink lady slippers growing next to pitcher plants, pink lady slippers can grow in a wider variety of habitats than pitcher plants. If its pitcher plants you seek you need to look in bogs and that soil looks too dry and rocky to support pitcher plants. Try seeing if there are any bog walks near by they often have pitcher plants in view to enjoy along with other botanical wonders
Definitely Cypripedium acaule! Nice find. As an FYI, the pitcher plants you’re likely to see are Sarracennia purpurea, the purple pitcher plant, and look like this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarracenia_purpurea The pink lady slipper is actually an orchid (same family as the ones you find in the grocery store, vanilla, and an insane number of other plants) Orchids are one of the most diverse families out there, but tend to grow from a little bulb in the ground and have very showy flowers. Pitcher plants tend to grow in marshy/boggy areas (like most carnivorous plants) where soil nutrients are terrible. They evolved to eat bugs to get the missing nutrients.
Very cool stuff! I wasn’t aware that was why pitcher plants dissolved insects to get their missing nutrients whereas other plants get theirs from the soil around them. Thank you for the Information, friend!
No problem! Every single plant has a little quirk like that that helps it survive. They’re like little puzzles to figure out that all fit into a massive overall picture. I’d strongly recommend Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t (/r/cpbbd) who does a great job breaking down the ways plants all fit together
Thank you!
yep
Yes a lady slipper. I grew up searching for them in Nova Scotia, Canada. Don't pick them! They are rare, and a type of orchid.
I've seen many different kinds of orchids on Brier Island NS, but funny thing is that pink lady slippers weren't one of them. But I did see a couple on the hike to Cape Split one time in Scots Bay. Pink lady slippers are common throughout Canada though, especially boggy areas with sphagnum peat moss growing. Seems they tolerate acidity.
They actually require it. Someone figured out 20-25 years ago that they need super-low pH to survive, which is why transplanting them almost always failed. Turns out they need a pH under about 4.0, or they perish. Interestingly, they do just fine at a higher pH when grown in the lab. Nobody knows why.
Wow, they're even more picky than my blueberries I need to add elemental sulphur to every spring to keep them alive and thriving.
They'd probably grow fairly well together. The largest colony I know of is riddled with huckleberries.
The ones I would find as a kid were always under a fir tree and near a blueberry patch!
I used to live down the street from a guy that had HUNDREDS grow in his yard every year it was amazing:)
Steal part of his yard lol. They need something super specific to grow and I don't recall if it was a mycelium/bacteria/acid vs base thing... But I know it's specific! Unless they've found a way to grow them indoors, or similar.... (Joking btw, I would be JEALOUS AF, *as a neighbor. I would love to find them growing in my yard! 😭😭😭😭😭😭) *Clarification
They do indeed need mycelium to germinate from seed as the seeds have no energy packs to germinate on their own! and I believe Cypripedium have a pollination/fertilisation rate of 7%-10% due to the fact they produce no nectar and no loose pollen for insects to take, therefore no reward. It’s amazing they survive the way they have done
TRULY!
Love them
What an amazing find!!
Thank you! I hadn’t seen any before and it was certainly eye catching.
I hope to see one someday! Lots of jewel orchids around where I live, cute, but not as spectacular
Looks like it! Where are you?! I'm used to only seeing them in Maine! 😍😍😍😍😍
Western MD, specifically on a pretty well known trail leading to Annapolis Rock (a scenic lookout). Surprised they had survived without anyone poaching them as apparently they are pretty rare lol
It looks like something and it’s not a lady.
Keep it secret, people will poach them! They will clean out entire patches of them. Assholes!
That... that's where the pollen is stored before it is released
I know you're trying to make a joke about balls, but orchids don't have traditional pollen, they instead have a structure called a pollinia, which is basically just all the pollen in a sac (quite like balls). The pollinia is in the column at the center of the flower, which here is enclosed by the lip, which is intended to temporarily trap the creature inside to encourage the exchange of the pollinia.
Sounds like light torture for the creature that gets covered in pollen... Very informative - thanks!
Pollen is stored in the balls...
Very that.
Looks like a ballsack
Fairly common in PNW but always exciting to find them!
Pink Stemless Ladyslipper, *Cypripedium acuale*
Yes. I think they’re in northern Midwest, too.
Oh wow how does it feel to be living my dream!?
Yes!🤙