Native Lady Slipper Orchid

An Update on Conservation Efforts

By Cathy Bloome

Most members of the IOS grow tropical orchids, and so do I. But maybe you are not aware of the orchids growing around Chicago. I do plant monitoring for Plants of Concern; it's a program created by the Chicago Botanic Garden. Volunteers are trained to count and collect data about rare and threatened orchids and other rare plants in Illinois.

I love the native orchids that are found around Chicago. It's amazing how they can survive our winters. I have been monitoring them for many years. They can grow in prairies, woodlands, wetlands and bogs. You may not hear much about them because some can be quite rare. Their locations are mostly kept secret due to poaching. Just recently several members in the IOS helped me do my yearly count. I'm very grateful for their help because this year they found over 500 blooming orchids. Besides counting the plants, other information is observed about the habitat. This is useful if something is threatening the population. Land managers are notified about things like invasive species changing the habitat, poaching, or destruction to the area by flooding, trash dumping, or vehicle damage.

The Cypripedium candidum is a small white lady slipper. It's the first native orchid to bloom around Chicago. The flowers are about 1-1/4 inches, while the plant is only 6-7 inches tall. They sometimes form clumps of many leaf stems and can have many flowers. Their fragrance is quite sweet if you can lay on the ground to smell them.

If you’re interested in plant monitoring for Plants of Concern, please contact me (Cathy Bloome) for future opportunities to get involved.