? Calypso orchid
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Asparagales Family: Orchidaceae Subfamily: Epidendroideae Tribe: Calypsoeae Genus: Calypso Salisb. Species: C. bulbosa
Binomial name
Calypso bulbosa (L.) Oakes

The Calypso orchid (Calypso bulbosa), also known as the fairy slipper or Venus's slipper, is a small pink, purple, or red flowered (accented with white lower lip, darker purple spottings, and yellow beard) perennial member of the orchid family (Orchidaceae), and is found in undisturbed northern montane forests. Calypso Orchid photographed 20th March 2004 on the Benstein Trail, Mount Tamalpais, California by Bronwen Lea. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Divisions Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants Adiantum pedatum (a fern... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also called angiosperms) are a major group of land plants. ... Orders Base Monocots: Acorus Alismatales Asparagales Dioscoreales Liliales Pandanales Family Petrosaviaceae Commelinids: Arecales Commelinales Poales Zingiberales Family Dasypogonaceae The Monocotyledons or monocots are an extremely important group of flowering plants, dominating great parts of the earth and with many economically important plants. ... Families according to the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group Agapanthus Agavaceae Alliaceae Amaryllidaceae Aphyllanthaceae Asparagaceae Asphodelaceae Asteliaceae Blandfordiaceae Boryaceae Doryanthaceae Hemerocallidaceae Hyacinthaceae Hypoxidaceae Iridaceae Ixioliriaceae Lanariaceae Laxmanniaceae Orchidaceae Ruscaceae Tecophilaeaceae Themidaceae Xanthorrhoea Xeronema Asparagales is an order of monocots which includes a number of families of non-woody plants. ... Genera Over 800 See List of Orchidaceae genera. ... Tribes See text The Epidendroideae, or epidendroid orchids, are a subfamily of the orchid family (Orchidaceae). ... Richard Anthony Salisbury (May 2, 1761 - 1829) was a British botanist. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Carolus Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as Carl von Linné ▶(?), and in English usually under the Latinized name Carolus Linnaeus (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of taxonomy. ... A Red Valerian, a perennial plant. ... Genera Over 800 See List of Orchidaceae genera. ... Mount McKinley in Alaska has one of the largest visible base-to-summit elevation differences anywhere A mountain is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. ...

It is the only species currently classified in the genus Calypso, which takes its name from the Greek signifying concealment, as they tend to favor sheltered areas on conifer forest floors.

Their tiny purple blooms, typically about 10 cm in height, can be a pleasant sporadic sight on hiking trails from late March onwards, though in the more northerly parts of their range they do not bloom until May and June. These come to full bloom in nearly 20 years.

Its range is circumpolar, and includes all the western states and most of the most northerly states of the United States. Two varieties are found in the USA, var. americana and var. occidentalis, which are found respectively east and west of the Sierra Nevada ranges. Circumpolar stars are those stars which are located near the celestial poles of the celestial sphere, i. ... The Sierra Nevada is a mountain range that is almost entirely in eastern California. ...

Although the calypso orchid's distribution is wide, it is very susceptible to disturbance, and is therefore classified as threatened or endangered in several states. It is easily disturbed and does not transplant well owing to a dependence on specific soil fungi. The bulbs have been used as a food source by North American native peoples, though this is not recommended now because the sites for these plants are now rare and easily destroyed. The Thompson Indians of British Columbia used it as a treatment for epilepsy. An endangered species is a species whose population is so small that it is in danger of becoming extinct. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the... Assiniboin Boy, an Atsina Native Americans in the United States (also Indians, American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Peoples, Aboriginal Peoples, Aboriginal Americans, Amerindians, Amerinds, or Original Americans) are those indigenous peoples within the territory that is now encompassed by the continental United States, and their descendants in modern times. ... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Official languages English Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia Iona Campagnolo Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 36 6 Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 5th 944,735 km² 2. ...

The Calypso Orchid relies on "pollination by deception", as it attracts insects which it does not nourish and which eventually begin to learn not to revisit it. Avoiding such recognition may account for some of the small variation in the flower's appearance.

Synonymy

The genera Calypsodium Link, Cytherea Salisb., Norna Wahlenb. and Orchidium Sw. are generally considered synonyms of Calypso. In scientific classification, synonymy is the existence of multiple systematic names to label the same organism. ... Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link (February 2, 1767 - January 1, 1850) was a German naturalist and botanist. ... Richard Anthony Salisbury (May 2, 1761 - 1829) was a British botanist. ... Georg (Göran) Wahlenberg (Kroppa, Värmland County 1 October 1780 – Uppsala 22 March 1851) was a Swedish naturalist. ...

External links

Jepson Manual treatment of the species