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Calypso bulbosa
Also called Fairy-slipper, Fairyslipper, Calypso, Venus' Slipper, Fairy Slipper Orchid, Venus's Slipper, Fairyslipper Orchid
Calypso bulbosa is a small, cool-climate terrestrial orchid of northern conifer forests, with a single pink-purple flower in late spring. It is a species, not a genus, and it does not grow well in gardens because it depends on soil fungi that are lost when it is transplanted.
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.
This species' range is circumpolar, extending around the northern hemisphere. In Europe this includes just Sweden, Finland, the Baltic states, and the northern parts of European Russia. It includes California, the Rocky Mountain states and most of the most northerly states of the United States; most of Canada; China, Mongolia, Korea and Japan—see external links for map. It is found in subarctic swamps and marshes as well as shady places subarctic coniferous forests.
Attempts at garden cultivation are not successful and transplanting usually will kill plants. The structure of the corms suggest that the species is dependent on mycorrhizal relationships with soil funguses that are lost during transplantation. The corms have been used as a food source by North American native peoples. The Nlaka'pamux of British Columbia used it as a treatment for mild epilepsy.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Calypso bulbosa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
