Every county strives to be tops, the very best, the most well
known and respected for something special in the entire state.
Other than having more miles of shoreline and the most
lighthouses of all counties in the state (or the nation!), Door
County also lays claim to the lady’s-slipper orchid capital of
Wisconsin.
June, when nature is bursting at her seams, is lady’s-slipper
orchid month here. I would like to strongly emphasize one point
before briefly describing these rare plants. They belong in the
wild and should remain there. About the only lady’s-slipper that
is regularly threatened by development in our county is the large
yellow species.
Please refuse to purchase wild orchid plants from any and all
nurseries. Word from those who know is that the great majority
of nursery orchids are dug and stolen from the wild someplace
else. Yes, by all means save them from the bulldozers and
black-toppers. Move them to a safe place where they can grow and
flower uninterrupted from year to year.
By far the rarest of this special wildflower group is the
ram’s head lady’s-slipper. In the first place it is small,
inconspicuous and easily overlooked by most hikers. I do believe
more should be found growing within a mile of Lake Michigan of
the waters of Green Bay, its preferred habitat, if only people
would search more carefully. These orchids usually are at their
peak during the first 10 days of June.
Mid-June signals the blooming period of the pink moccasin
lady’s-slipper, and if people can’t find them, the deer will. It
must be like dessert to these animals. Some botanists refer to
them as stemless lady’s-slippers because what appears to be a
long stem coming from the ground and supporting the blossom is
actually a scape and technically not a stem.
The large yellow lady’s-slipper, Door County’s official
wildflower, has an exceptionally long blossoming period here,
fully six weeks. It opens high in the west-side bluff woods by
late May and is still in good bloom in mid-July in the low, cool,
swampy woods of eastern Door County. Several learned botanists
have made the claim that they know of no other place in the world
where these are as abundant. "Thumb" plants!
There is another distinctly different species of yellow
lady’s-slippers, the small yellow lady-slipper. We have found
them, for example, in damp willow seeps where, if you are to
kneel down to photograph these diminutive orchids, you’ll end up
with wet knees. Unlike the large species that lacks fragrance,
the small yellow is very sweet smelling. It is considerably more
dainty than the large and the interior of the so-called slipper
has much more dark red coloring than does the large.
Robust, flamboyant, pink-and-white showy lady’s-slipper
orchids bloom in eastern Door County from late June into
mid-July. Unfortunately they are absolutely ambrosial to the
white-tailed deer who have just about done them in throughout the
state. They become fewer in number every year. Large, fenced-in
deer-less tracts may be the only salvation for these spectacular
orchids.
There is another large group of wildflowers that, compared to
the more eye-catching lady’s-slippers, "goes begging."
June is also violet month with at least 11 species inhabiting the
county.
An excellent user-friendly, keyed wildflower guide, such as
"Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide," will help you easily
master this small but wonderful flower group. For example, if it
blooms from leafy stems it is "stemmed" – such as the
tall robust Canada violet, or the small blue long-spurred violet
that grows only in counties bordering Lake Michigan. Other
violets are "stem-less" and rise directly from the
ground on separate scapes, such as the woolly blue violet or the
small white violet.
As so often happens, the smallest and least-noticed
wildflowers are among the most abundant and exquisite in many
ways. They bring you to your knees for a good look. (And while
in that position, give thanks for being able to enjoy these
beauties!)
There have been several mid-Junes in recent years when
enormous hatches of Mayflies have occurred. As much as lakeside
residents in particular despise the temporary mess brought about
by the so-called "lake flies," bear in mind that these
creatures’ very existence reflects relatively clean water. They
cannot survive and reproduce in extremely polluted water.
Several species of overwintering butterflies, such as the
painted lady and mourning cloak, have already been on the wing.
Others have begun to emerge as adults including the dazzling
little blue "spring azure," the European cabbage
(white) and the common sulfur (yellow).
There is one butterfly that deserves our close attention, the
monarch. Keep daily records of sightings and numbers of these
large, slow-flying, easily recognized orange-and-black beauties.
We are almost always seeing them by the end of the first week of
this month. Keep daily records of sightings and numbers of these
migratory favorites.
James Russell Lowell must have dearly loved June, too, as he
wrote:
Monarch butterflies should be returning to Door County
by the first week of June.
June is lady's-slipper month, This pink moccasin is
much rarer than the yellow lady's-slipper.
And what is so rare as a day in June?
Then, if ever, come perfect days;
Then heaven tries the earth if it be in tune,
And over it softly her warm ear lays.
This column appeared in the Door County Advocate
on 06/01/2004.
© Copyright 2004 Roy Lukes. All rights reserved.
