Royal Catchfly, Watercolor by Heeyoung Kim, US

Silene regia

Listings: Possibly Extirpated, Tennessee; Endangered, Illinois, Kentucky

The Plant's Story
America’s Midwestern prairie has steadily declined during the last two hundred years, and now only fragments of the once expansive ecosystem remain. Some of North America’s most endangered plants and animals are prairie and grassland species. One of these is the royal catchfly, so named because it literally catches insects in the sticky base of the flower. Although appearing throughout the Midwest, its numbers are declining due to habitat alterations, picking and digging. Missouri is the only state with substantial populations remaining.

The Artist’s Story: Heeyoung Kim

I was introduced to this beautiful, rare species in the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Dixon Prairie in August 2007. My eyes were drawn to the red royal catchfly among hundreds of wildflowers dancing in the prairie garden. I did detailed pencil sketches and took notes about subtle changes as time passed. Since I live very close to the Garden I often go there with my sketchbook and camera. Based on my sketches I could compose the whole life cycle of the plant from buds to fruits.

More of the plant’s story and the artist’s story can be found in the exhibit catalog, available at the exhibition venues or online from the ASBA.

Pink Lady’s Slipper, Moccasin Flower, Watercolor by Catherine Kopper, US

Cypripedium acaule
Listings: Endangered, Illinois; Commercially Exploited, Endangered, Tennessee

The Plant’s Story

Cypripedium acaule, a large, showy wildflower, is one of the most recognizable wild orchids preferring haunts of acidic dry to wet forests, bogs, and wetland edges. Specific habitat requirements of Cypripedium acaule make it difficult to transplant probably due to its mutualistic relationship with specific mycorrhizal fungi in the soil; if those fungi are absent, the plant will decline then die. The fungi help the orchid take up nutrients from the soil and surrounding trees, and the orchid contributes carbon it photosynthesizes to the fungus. Once established in a place it likes, with a large root system, the moccasin flower can live for decades. The pink color and sweet scent of the lady’s slipper flower attract bees for pollination.

The Artist’s Story: Catherine Kopper

I have lived in Pembroke, Massachusetts since 1984 and each spring I have observed Cypripedium acaule, the pink lady’s slipper, blossom in a small wooded area behind my house. As soon as I saw the leaves I began to observe its progress and made some rough sketches. I also photographed the plants that I planned to paint. I prefer to work from the specimen so during a few days of good weather I sat outside and worked on my composition. I then returned to my studio to make a final drawing that I transferred to my watercolor paper.

More of the plant’s story and the artist’s story are included in the exhibit catalog, available at the exhibition venues or online from the ASBA.