An eleven year experimental study of the pink lady's slipper orchid (Cypripedium acaule)

The perennial orchid Cypripedium acaule AIT. is an excellent model for investigating the cost of reproduction, that is the impact of current reproduction on future reproduction, growth, and survival. In Massachusetts, flowering plants do not produce fruit because pollination is inadequate. In three natural populations, non-fruiting control plants were contrasted with experimental plants that were hand-pollinated and made fruits. Experimental plants were hand-pollinated each year they flowered for 11 years. For each fruit that a plant produced, that plant's leaf area decreased by around 25 to 30 cm(2) in the following year; the probability of re-blooming in the following year decreased by around 5 to 10%. Experimental effects were strongest after three to seven years; after this time, plant deaths and lack of flowering obscured. the experimental effects because of small sample size. An important component in this and related studies has been incorporating the public, in particular children, into field projects. Children and their teachers are eager to work with scientists on conservation projects involving natural history and plants. People are particularly eager to assist in restoring lost populations of wildflowers into urban parks. The impact of these studies is further extended by working with newspaper reporters and other forms of media to reach a wider audience.