Fairy Slipper Orchid

Fairy Slipper Orchid

The Fairy Slipper Orchid (Calypso bulbosa) is native to North America and Eurasia.  The only species in its genus Calypso, which takes its name from the Greek signifying concealment, favors sheltered areas on conifer forest floors.  A orchid bears one flower and one dark-green, crinkled leaf that arises from a rounded corm (swollen stem base).  The lip of the purplish-pink flower is pouchlike and bears a number of yellow hairs on the upper surface.