Fairy Slipper Orchid

Calypso is a genus of orchids containing one species, Calypso bulbosa, known as the calypso orchid, fairy slipper or Venus's slipper. It is a perennial member of the orchid family found in undisturbed northern and montane forests. It has a small pink, purple, pinkish-purple, or red flower accented with a white lip, darker purple spottings, and yellow beard. The genus Calypso takes its name from the Greek signifying concealment, as they tend to favor sheltered areas on conifer forest floors. The specific epithet, bulbosa, refers to the bulb-like corms.^[3]

Calypso bulbosa is a low growing herbaceous plant with a nearly egg-shaped underground storage organ called a corm. It is encased in dead leaf sheaths and has elongated roots. Calypso orchids are typically 8 to 20 cm in height.^[3] Plants have a single leaf that measures 1 to 6.5 centimeters long with a width of 1.2 to 5.2 cm. The leaf is suborbiculate, nearly circular, or ovate, egg shaped in outline. The base of the leaf is often cordate, having an indentation like the top of a heart.^[4] The leaf often has a very long petiole, a leaf stalk attaching it to the plant.^[5] The leaf sprouts in the autumn and remains green over the winter. It withers a short time after flowering.^[6]