MNPS Monthly Program: The Old Line State Native Orchids by Clark Riley, PhD

Most people think of orchids as exotic tropical beauties. But our state hosts over 40 species of orchids ranging from tiny beauties to eye catching blooms. We may walk past them (or on them!) in natural areas from the coastal plains to our western mountains. A typical walk in any state forest you may see 4 to 10 species, some common some rare. Among this diverse and incredibly prolific native orchid population, one of the showiest species is the slipper orchid genus Cypripedium, which Dr. Riley has successfully propagated over many years of growing experience. Dr. Riley’s expertise and curiosity have led him on many native orchid adventures, a few of which he will share with us tonight.  Join us for an entertaining and inspiring peek at Maryland’s native orchids.

Speaker: Clark Riley, PhD

Clark Riley has been an active orchid grower since 1957. At the age of six, he got his first plant, a probably-collected Yellow Lady Slipper (Cypripedium pubescens) from a perennial nursery. The plant died a miserable death in a short time, but not before blooming and cementing a love of orchids that has lasted over half a century. He has labored ever since to make amends by promoting the sound cultivation of Lady Slippers.  He grows a wide range of orchids, including several thousand terrestrials, hardy species, and Lady Slippers, Brazilian Laelias, and specialty Phalaenopsis, often from seed. He was the producer for the book and CD of Proceedings of the North American Native Terrestrial Orchid Conference. He is a life member and past president of the Maryland Orchid Society. He is a member of the American Orchid Society, where he is on the speaker’s bureau. He can be reached at DrRiley@aol.com or visit his website https://cyps.us "Cypripediums in the House and Garden"

Additional resources: https://northamericanorchidcenter.org (NAOCC), Orchids of Calvert County YouTube November 2025.

This meeting is hybrid. We ask that you register for your preferred option; after registering, you will get Zoom login information and in person location information.

Co-sponsor: The University of Maryland Extension with host Lisa Kuder

Physical location:

University of Maryland Extension, Central Maryland Research and Education Center (CMREC)
4240 Folly Quarter Road
Ellicott City, MD 21042
Directions: Enter the building at the front door under the portico. (The door next to the parking lot will be locked.)

YOU MUST REGISTER IN ORDER TO RECEIVE THE ZOOM LINK

The program is free and open to the public.

Zoom opens at 7:00PM for pre-program board update and member Q and A. Presentations begin at 7:30PM and generally run until 8:45PM.

We can accommodate the first 300 people who enter the Zoom meeting at the meeting time. After you register, you will receive a registration confirmation email with a link to the Zoom meeting, as well as the in person location information.

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