Jay's post got me to soften up and share some photos from this weekend with you a little early.
I visited two known sites for Yellow Ladyslipper (Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubscens) in North Alabama this weekend. One within the boundaries of Bankhead National Forest, and the other a separate location in N. Alabama with a much larger known population.
I can report that the population of Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubscens in BNF is larger than expected. I found several more plants within a population I had previously known about, and also discovered a single juvenile plant occurring in a distinct area which is probably part of a larger group. Leads me to believe the population is actually much larger. The second location only strengthened this belief, as it clarified my understanding of Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubscens' preferred habitat. Although I had normally only seen it in open woods or along streambeds, most of the plants in this population (which is actually several small one to many plant populations over a larger area) were in seeps on rockly hillsides. Sipsey has quite a few such places, and Bankhead as a whole even more so. I was also able to practice my identification skills, as this population was of ambigious ID. Unfortunately, since Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubscens is such a sporadic plant, only about a half dozen plants were observed in bloom, and only one in BNF.
I also had the occasion to see Dodecatheon meadia, Dwarf Crested Iris, Showy Orchis, river cane in bloom, and two species of azalea (including a hybrid of the two), among others.
Please do not ask for, speculate about, or reveal the identity of the locations in this thread. I don't want that information getting indexed by Google.
Saturday:
http://www.szulecki.com/i...ges/BNFSlipper2010/album/Sunday:
http://www.szulecki.com/i...4182010SlipperTrip/album/
