Our final match of round two pits two beautiful plants against each other: the Yellow Lady Slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum) and the Riverbank Grape (Vitis riparia).
The yellow lady slipper orchid handily defeated the blue cohosh in its first-round match, winning voters over with its distinctive flowers shaped like baby booties! It’s a hardy plant; once established, these orchids will live for many years, but don’t go picking them and planting them in your own garden as it has a less than 5% transplant success rate. Best to leave them where you find them (learn more at this CBC article), and ensure the spaces that house them are protected, now and for the future.
The riverbank grape may not have baby booties, but it does have edible (albeit rather tart) wild grapes. The leaves are also edible, offering a sour taste that works with some Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes. This perennial vine, usually found along riverbanks, climbs up surrounding trees and can crowd out young saplings, but it is native to this area and kept under control within healthy ecosystems. Check out this article from Charles Burchill for more information about the Riverbank Grape.
The winner of this match goes on to the quarterfinals to face the winner of the contest the Red Maple and the Mayapple to determine the Champion of the Plants! Which species will have what it takes to advance to the Final Four? Only you can make this decision, with your ballots, so cast your ballot below: