Tomorrow I head to China for two months of writing, field work, talks, and student discussions at the Kunming Institute of Botany in China, a follow-up to the work that I did last year. It feels appropriate, therefore, to be reviewing a book devoted to a western European outlier of a group of orchids (the ‘lady’s slippers’) that have one of their centers of diversity in that country.
In The Dales Slipper: Past-Present, author Paul Redshaw focuses on ‘the’ Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium calceolus), an almost mythological species in British botany, due to its extreme rarity, the secrecy and protectiveness about where it grows, and its tendency to be dug up by unscrupulous orchid collectors. And a fascinating (if sometimes frustrating) read it is too!
The fascination of the book lies with Paul’s ability to sleuth previously unknown facts from local people who were witnesses to the rediscovery and subsequent protection of what was thought to be the last colony of the species in Britain. Protection was afforded by ‘The Guardians’ who (of course) met in a pub and were sworn to secrecy and (of course) fell out when personalities and priorities clashed. They were replaced (ousted?) by a more formal ‘Cypripedium Committee’ that still exists today, but who (if the author is to be believed) are even more secretive than The Guardians!
Drawing on newly uncovered archives, personal testimonies, and previously unseen images, the book details the decades-long efforts – marked by secrecy, dedication, and conflict – to protect the species from extinction. It stands as the first comprehensive and fully referenced account of this remarkable conservation journey
It makes a compelling story of the kind I can imagine being a successful comedy-drama for television – think Detectorists with hand lenses.
I mentioned that the book was a frustrating read, too. That’s partly because there’s a big cast of characters, some of whom have the same names, and it’s easy to lose track of who they are and what they did, and when. Paul does provide a helpful list of the protagonists but I found myself feeling a bit lost in places. That’s not helped by the fact that the book would have benefited from professional editing to smooth the rough edges.
These minor gripes aside, The Dales Slipper will interest anyone looking for a deep dive into British botanical history via the world of one of our rarest and most iconic wild plants.
