Fairyslipper, Cytherea, Venus slipper, pink slipper-orchid, false ladyslipper • Calypso bulbosa
{Calypso = concealment; in Greek mythology the nymph Calypso was the daughter of Atlas; she also made an appearance in Homer's Odyssey • bulbosa = refers to the plant's bulb-like corm}
Identification
Fairyslipper is a delicate 10-25 cm tall perennial. It has thin purplish-coloured stems and produces only one dark green, egg-shaped leaf. Both the leaf and the stem grow from a bulb-shaped corm (a short, thick underground stem). The leaf sprouts in autumn, is present throughout winter, then withers in summer. The plant produces a single large elaborate flower. This nodding flower is fragrant, with 2 petals and 3 petal-like sepals above the streaked and spotted slipper-like lip. They are generally a pinky-purple colour, as above, but can occasionally be nearly white. There are two BC varieties of this species. They are mainly differentiated by the colour of the 'apron' of the lip (the spotted lower part of the flower in the photo above), and the number and colour of bristle-like hairs on the lip. Var. americana has many yellow bristle-like hairs and a yellow apron, while var. occidentalis has some sparse white hairs and a white apron with purplish blotches. The fairyslipper pictured above is var. occidentalis.
Habitat & Range
Fairyslippers are most commonly found in dry to moist forest habitats. It grows well in areas with abundant leaf litter, as well as on decaying vegetation, and on rotting logs and stumps. They grow from low to middle elevations. In BC var. occidentalis is more common west of the Coast-Cascade Mountains, and var. americana is more common east. Its west coast range stretches from Alaska to California. It is a circumpolar species, with two other varieties found in Eurasia. Var. bulbosa is the only variety found in Europe and much of Asia, while var. speciosa is found in Japan.
Human Uses
This beautiful flower is often picked from the corm by passers-by, or the whole plant is collected for cultivation in home gardens.
Intriguing Info
Fairyslippers do not produce nectar. Instead, their flower has a similar shape and smell to other nectar-producing flowers. Pollinators are lured to the flowers by these similarities, and end up brushing against the column (an orchid-specific structure composed of the pistol and stamens joined together) which deposits pollen on the visiting pollinators.
Take care when viewing and photographing fairyslippers. This plant is both beautiful and fragile, which means it can be easily trampled or damaged in populated areas and in less populated areas when people view or photograph the flower. If the flower is picked, the whole plant usually dies as the corm gets detached from its delicate roots. This species is listed in Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), and so international trade should be monitored carefully.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47215-Calypso-bulbosa
Fairyslipper is a delicate 10-25 cm tall perennial. It has thin purplish-coloured stems and produces only one dark green, egg-shaped leaf. Both the leaf and the stem grow from a bulb-shaped corm (a short, thick underground stem). The leaf sprouts in autumn, is present throughout winter, then withers in summer. The plant produces a single large elaborate flower. This nodding flower is fragrant, with 2 petals and 3 petal-like sepals above the streaked and spotted slipper-like lip. They are generally a pinky-purple colour, as above, but can occasionally be nearly white. There are two BC varieties of this species. They are mainly differentiated by the colour of the 'apron' of the lip (the spotted lower part of the flower in the photo above), and the number and colour of bristle-like hairs on the lip. Var. americana has many yellow bristle-like hairs and a yellow apron, while var. occidentalis has some sparse white hairs and a white apron with purplish blotches. The fairyslipper pictured above is var. occidentalis.
Habitat & Range
Fairyslippers are most commonly found in dry to moist forest habitats. It grows well in areas with abundant leaf litter, as well as on decaying vegetation, and on rotting logs and stumps. They grow from low to middle elevations. In BC var. occidentalis is more common west of the Coast-Cascade Mountains, and var. americana is more common east. Its west coast range stretches from Alaska to California. It is a circumpolar species, with two other varieties found in Eurasia. Var. bulbosa is the only variety found in Europe and much of Asia, while var. speciosa is found in Japan.
Human Uses
This beautiful flower is often picked from the corm by passers-by, or the whole plant is collected for cultivation in home gardens.
Intriguing Info
Fairyslippers do not produce nectar. Instead, their flower has a similar shape and smell to other nectar-producing flowers. Pollinators are lured to the flowers by these similarities, and end up brushing against the column (an orchid-specific structure composed of the pistol and stamens joined together) which deposits pollen on the visiting pollinators.
Take care when viewing and photographing fairyslippers. This plant is both beautiful and fragile, which means it can be easily trampled or damaged in populated areas and in less populated areas when people view or photograph the flower. If the flower is picked, the whole plant usually dies as the corm gets detached from its delicate roots. This species is listed in Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), and so international trade should be monitored carefully.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47215-Calypso-bulbosa
References
Calypso bulbosa (L.) Oakes. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 26/08/2013.
Fairy slipper orchid (Calypso bulbosa). ARKive.org. Accessed 26/08/2013.
Pojar, J. and MacKinnon, A. (1994). Plants of Coastal British Columbia. Vancouver, BC: Lone Pine Publishing. P. 118.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2013).
Calypso bulbosa (L.) Oakes. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 26/08/2013.
Fairy slipper orchid (Calypso bulbosa). ARKive.org. Accessed 26/08/2013.
Pojar, J. and MacKinnon, A. (1994). Plants of Coastal British Columbia. Vancouver, BC: Lone Pine Publishing. P. 118.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2013).