Small White Lady's-slipper

Description
The Small White Lady's-slipper is a terrestrial perennial orchid which measures 20 to 36 cm in height. It grows from a rhizome and forms a bunch of 3 to 60 stems. About 3 or 4 long straight leaves grow from the center of the stem. The flower of this plant resembles a small slipper, hence its name. This small white flower is sometimes coloured by a delicate purple line; the opening and the interior of the flower are speckled with darker purple; the petals are twisted.

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Canadian Distribution of the Small White Lady's-slipper
(shown in red) 1,2

Distribution is approximate and not intended for legal use.

1Author: Canadian Wildlife Service, 2004
2Data Sources: The main source of information and data is the COSEWIC Status Report. In many cases additional data sources were used; a complete list will be available in the future.

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Distribution and Population
The Small White Lady's-slipper is found in 15 states in the U.S.A. and in Manitoba and Ontario in Canada. In Manitoba, it is found in three widely separated areas: southeastern Manitoba, the southern Interlake district (between the southern ends of lakes Winnipeg and Manitoba), and the Brandon area in south-central Manitoba. While additional populations have been found in the province since the species was first designated by COSEWIC, four sites in south-central Manitoba appear to be extirpated. The Small White Lady's-slipper has disappeared from Saskatchewan and from the Bruce, Kent, Norfolk and Welland counties of Ontario; a few plants are still found in Lambton County and Hastings counties in Ontario. In Manitoba, aggregate populations occur in the Tolstoi-Gardenton (Tall Grass Prairie Preserve), Brandon, and St. Laurent areas. Single populations occur in the Lake Francis, Woodlands, Brandon Hills and Kleefeld areas. In the largest of these sites, part of the Tall-grass Prairie Preserve in southeastern Manitoba, up to 13,979 plants have been counted in a given year. In 1997, a total of 34,491 stems were counted in the Preserve, of which 16,899 were flowering stems. The Kleefeld population consisted of about 552 stems (68% flowering) in 1998. The Lake Francis and Woodlands populations each had about 80 stems in 1998. Of the six populations in the Brandon area, four are within fields and range from 100 to 984 stems, while the other two are along road allowances and range from 10 to 293 stems.

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Habitat
In the past, the Small White Lady's-slipper occurred in open tall grass prairies, dry-mesic hillsides, low calcareous prairies, and calcareous fens. Today, due to agricultural development and urbanization in the western provinces, it is found in prairie openings in wooded grasslands, or on more open sites with a southerly aspect and calcareous sandy loam soil. The few plants which survive in the eastern part of the country are found in marshes, in marshy limestone meadows, in prairie areas, and on the edges of brush.

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Biology
Several stems can grow from one rhizome, but each stem has only one flower. The Small White Lady's-slipper depends on insects, mainly bees, for pollination. It takes approximately 13 years for the Small White Lady's-slipper to flower. Flowering in Manitoba usually begins in late May or early June. Frost damage occurs during the flowering season at least once every five years, reducing the plants' ability to produce food and reproduce.

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Threats
In Manitoba, encroachment of woody vegetation into the prairie zone, possibly as a result of discontinued fire and grazing, threatens most Small White Lady's-slipper habitats. Late spring frosts negatively impact on flowers and subsequent seed production. Collection of plants by amateur, commercial and scientific collectors threatens roadside populations in particular. Shading and competition from invasive weed species such as leafy spurge Euphorbia esula and St. John's wort Hypericum perforatum are a threat to most sites. Isolated, small populations in the Interlake district may be at risk due to lack of genetic diversity.

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Protection
The Small White Lady's-slipper is protected under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA). More information about SARA, including how it protects individual species, is available in the Species at Risk Act: A Guide.

The Small White Lady's-slipper is protected by the Manitoba and Ontario Endangered Species Acts. Under these Acts, it is prohibited to harm individuals of this species or its habitat. This plant occurs within the provincial Tall Grass Prairie Preserve in Manitoba.  

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Other Protection or Status

The Small White Lady's-slipper is included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which sets controls on the international trade and movement of species that have been, or may be, threatened due to commercial exploitation.

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Recovery Initiatives

Status of Recovery Planning

Recovery Strategies :

Name National Recovery Strategy for Tallgrass Communities of Southern Ontario Status Recovery team/planner in place Number of Action Plans 0 Name National Recovery Strategy for the Walpole Island Ecosystem Status Submitted for peer review/ review by F/P/T partners Number of Action Plans 0 Name Recovery Strategy for the Small White Lady's-slipper (Cypripedium candidum) in Canada Status Approvals process initiated Number of Action Plans 0

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Population Estimates

Recovery Team

Tallgrass Communities of Southern Ontario Recovery Team

Holly Bickerton - Chair - Government of Ontario
Phone: 705-755-5893  Fax: 705-755-1788  Send Email

Lindsay Rodger - Chair - Parks Canada
Phone: 819-953-6575  Send Email

Will Wilson - Chair - University or college
Phone: 807-343-8274  Fax: 807-343-8380  Send Email

Jane Bowles - Member - University or college
Graham Buck - Member - Conservation organization (NGO)
Peter Carson - Member - Private consultant
Paul Pratt - Member - Municipal government
Roxanne St Martin - Member - Government of Ontario
Ken Tuininga - Member - Environment Canada
Allen Woodliffe - Contact - Government of Ontario

Walpole Island Ecosystem Recovery Team

Madeline Austen - Chair - Environment Canada
Phone: 416-739-4214  Send Email

Dean Jacobs - Chair - Other
 Send Email

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Recovery Progress and Activities

Summary of Progress to Date

This species is included within the Tallgrass Communities (Ontario) multi-species association.

In 1998 a Recovery Plan for Tallgrass Communities of Southern Ontario was published outside the auspices of RENEW as a joint effort between World Wildlife Fund and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. The overall goal of this plan is to recover, reconstruct and conserve a representative network of tallgrass communities, along with the full complement of plant and animal species that inhabit these diverse ecological communities. The plan’s top priority is to protect what natural tallgrass prairie remains. Habitat restoration in key areas is identified as an important strategy to enlarge and connect habitat remnants.

The Ontario Tallgrass Prairie and Savanna Association – known as Tallgrass Ontario – was established in 1999 to implement this recovery plan (www.tallgrassontario .org). Tallgrass Ontario is now developing a new five-year recovery strategy, as well as supporting the development of recovery strategies for SARA-listed plant species associated with tallgrass prairie.

Summary of Research/Monitoring Activities

In 2001 Tallgrass Ontario initiated a project – Save Ontario Savannas (SOS) – to map remnant prairie sites. Sites were ranked and analyzed based on threat to the tallgrass community. This mapping project provided benchmark data, allowing for sites to be evaluated over time. Since 2001, surveys have been conducted for some endangered plants, including Spotted Wintergreen, Virginia Goat’s Rue and Bird’s-foot Violet.

Habitat restoration projects generally have an “adaptive management” approach, in which the effectiveness of treatments is monitored. For example, prescribed burns have been carried out since 1994 in Turkey Point Provincial Park and in the St. Williams Crown Forest (a proposed Conservation Reserve), and surveys of endangered plants indicate the prescribed burns have been effective.

In 2001 a review was conducted of existing and potential uses for tallgrass species on agricultural lands in southern Ontario. The objective of this research was to identify feasible ways in which farmers and other landowners can re-integrate some indigenous tallgrass species onto their lands, possibly generating income at the same time. The resulting report is available at Tallgrass Ontario’s website.

Summary of Recovery Activities

Protection and active management of Ontario’s tallgrass prairie began in 1978 in the Ojibway Prairie Complex, a mix of public and private properties. A visitor’s centre at this site provides public education about tallgrass communities and their management. Toronto’s High Park and Rondeau, Pinery and Turkey Point provincial parks, have also become active in tallgrass management and environmental education. Restoration and management techniques include prescribed burns, removal of encroaching woody vegetation and reintroduction of native plants.

The Rural Lambton Stewardship Network (RLSN), established in 1994, works with government agencies, non-governmental organizations, commercial and industrial firms, schools and community groups to do small- and large-scale tallgrass prairie creation projects on public and private lands. It has established a native seed nursery to provide a seed source for tallgrass prairie habitat.

In 1996 a prescribed burn was conducted for the first time along a highway (Hwy 401) to help restore native tallgrass prairie species along the roadside. In addition to increasing prairie habitat value, native tallgrasses are lower-maintenance than non-native roadside plants, which require periodic herbicide applications and mowing. Similar initiatives are being conducted along hydro rights-of-way.

The Nature Legacy Foundation works to secure the protection of prairie sites designated as high priority by Tallgrass Ontario through conservation easements (a legal tool by which conservation-minded landowners ensure long-term protection of wildlife habitat while still retaining ownership of their land), land purchases and land donations. Volunteers assist in the monitoring and stewardship of secured prairie sites.

Tallgrass Ontario has conducted outreach to owners of priority prairie sites since 2002. They help interested landowners develop stewardship techniques appropriate to their site (e.g., mowing, haying, seeding, grassland agriculture, flooding). When landowners agree to be stewards of their prairie, Tallgrass Ontario collects baseline habitat data, and sites are monitored to evaluate the effectiveness of restoration or conservation measures. Approximately 50 voluntary stewardship agreements have been placed with private landowners between 2001 and 2005.

In some cases, landowners’ stewardship activities qualify them for financial incentives through the Greencover Canada program, which supports the conversion of environmentally sensitive land to perennial cover as well as best agricultural practices in critical areas near water. This program may be of significant interest to farmers and rural landowners who wish to use native species for forage, buffer strips or retiring old fields.

Fire is an important tool for the restoration and maintenance of tallgrass communities, as shrubs and trees can invade tallgrass prairies when fire is suppressed. Many private landowners may not know whether fire is an appropriate tool for their prairie and how to use it effectively and safely. Therefore, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has developed an interactive program to support prescribed fire planning – “Prescribed Fire Decision Support System”.  You can view this tool at www.tallgrassontari o.org.

URLs
www.tallgrassontari o.org

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