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The fairy slipper is perhaps the first wild orchid to bloom each spring. It seems to have evolved to fool the earliest of pollinators, queen bees, into pollinating it — yet the fairy slipper offers bees no rewards in return.<\/p>\n
Some years I have seen dozens of fairy slippers as early as mid-April at my favourite observing spot. This year it was mid-May before I saw even one — indeed, at that time, there was only one to be seen.<\/p>\n
There are two varieties of fairy slipper in North America: the eastern and the western. The western isn’t found east of the Rocky Mountains. However, we get both varieties.<\/p>\n
This bloom is the eastern variety, which blooms earlier than the western.
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The fairy slipper is perhaps the first wild orchid to bloom each spring. It seems to have evolved to fool the earliest of pollinators, queen bees, into pollinating it — yet the fairy slipper offers bees no rewards in … Continue reading