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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Calypso orchid
| image = Calypso bulbosa 06161.JPG
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Monocotyledon|Liliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Asparagales]]
| familia = [[Orchidaceae]]
| subfamilia = [[Epidendroideae]]
| tribus = Calypsoeae
| genus = '''''Calypso'''''
| genus_authority = [[Richard Anthony Salisbury|Salisb.]]
| species = '''''C. bulbosa'''''
| binomial = ''Calypso bulbosa''
| binomial_authority = ([[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]) [[William Oakes|Oakes]] | date = [[1807]]
}}

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 plant|perennial]] member of the orchid family (''[[Orchidaceae]]''), and is found in undisturbed northern [[montane]] forests.

It is the only species currently classified in the genus '''''Calypso''''', which takes its name from the [[Greek language|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]]. Furthermore [[Scandinavia]] (northern [[Sweden]] and [[Finland]]), northern part of European [[Russia]] and eastern [[Siberia]] and Canada - see external links for map. Two varieties are found in the USA, var. ''americana'' and var. ''occidentalis'', which are found respectively east and west of the [[Sierra Nevada (US)|Sierra Nevada]] ranges.

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, and in Sweden and Finland as well. It is easily disturbed and does not transplant well, owing to its [[mycorrhiza]]l dependence on specific soil fungi. The bulbs have been used as a food source by [[North America]]n [[Native Americans in the United States|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]].

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''''' [[Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link|Link]], '''''Cytherea''''' [[Richard Anthony Salisbury|Salisb.]], '''''Norna''''' [[Wahlenb.]] and '''''Orchidium''''' [[Sw.]] are generally considered synonyms of ''Calypso''.

==External links==
*[http://linnaeus.nrm.se/flora/mono/orchida/calyp/calybulv.jpg Map of distribution]
*[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?8695,8696,8697 Jepson Manual treatment of the species]
*[http://www.alpine-plants-jp.com/art/index_ranka.htm Wild orchid of Japan]

[[Image:CalypsoOrchid.jpg|thumb|left|300px||]]

[[Image:Calypsoorchid3.JPG|thumb|right|300px||]]

{{Commons|Calypso bulbosa|Calypso Orchid}}

[[Category:Orchid genera]]
[[Category:Orchid species]]
[[Category:Plants and pollinators]]
[[Category:Flora of North America]]
[[Category:Flora of Europe]]

Calypso orchid - Revision history

MediaWiki default at 10:12, 27 June 2007