Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

Fairy Slipper
Calypso bulbosa
Orchid family (Orchidaceae)

The Fairy Slipper is a favorite of many. This vibrantly colored orchid is often difficult to find and thankfully so as it would probably be extirpated. Once you find one, look around and you will likely see several more. Never pick them. Calypso, the daughter of Atlas, lived a solitary life on an island where she made life very sweet for the occasional sailor washed up on her shores. Calypso bulbosa was first collected in Siberia and in 1753 was described by Linnaeus.


©2014 Steve Sullivan

Description

Small, dainty slipper-like orchid, 2-8" tall, with a spectacularly shaped and colored flower. Flower has cap of 5 /petals and a pale lower lip with tuft of yellow hairs opening into a with dark purple stripes or spots. Single, oval emerges before flower appears and remains after flower has gone to seed. are elliptical with 10,000-20,000 seeds.

Field Marks

Small, pink slipper-like orchid with purple-striped throat.

© Al Schneider

capsule -- a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. In most cases the capsule splits apart to release seeds.

fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.

throat -- The opening of a flower.

Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom.

basal leaves -- a leaf that grows lowest on the stem of a plant.