Our final match of the Quarterfinals determines the Champion of the Plants. The Red Maple (Acer rubrum), a colourful tree that may be benefitting from some patriotic sentiment, takes on the dainty and delicate Yellow Lady Slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum). The winner of this match goes onto the Final Four and, possibly, the championship.
The red maple handily took care of the 2022 Final Four participant, the Yellow Trout Lily before putting away the Mayapple. It is an adaptable tree that finds itself at home in swamps, deciduous forests, and savannas, and we’ve already talked about its maple syrup-making sap, and the way its leaves contribute to the canopy, especially during the fall. As for the yellow lady slipper, it snuck past the blue cohosh and the riverbank grape to stand against the maple.
While the red maple may be bolstered by being a Canadian symbol in this contest, it’s interesting to note that there’s no one specific reason why the maple leaf is Canada’s symbol. It just sort of evolved into place through the 19th century, first being picked as the symbol of the first North American St. Jean Baptiste Society in 1834, and chosen as the name of a Toronto literary annual in 1848. The leaf was soon incorporated into the badges of regiments, and was on all our coins between 1876 and 1901. It just happened, and no one’s sure why.
The yellow lady slipper may not have the maple leaf’s symbolism, but it does have its fans, as many value orchids for their unusual displays, their colour and their variety. Some of our First Nations valued the yellow lady slipper for its medicinal properties. They’re a protected species in New England and thus illegal to harvest, though they can be grown in our backyards with care and attention, and they are efficient pollinators.
So, which plant takes it to the animal kingdom in the final four? Will it be the complicated yellow lady slipper or the stalwart red maple tree? The result depends on you and your votes, so cast your ballots now: