''Calypso'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowerin ...

s containing one species, ''Calypso bulbosa'', known as the calypso orchid, fairy slipper or Venus's slipper. It is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

member of the orchid family found in undisturbed northern and

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial ...

s. It has a small pink, purple, pinkish-purple, or red

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

accented with a white lip, darker purple spottings, and yellow beard. The genus ''Calypso'' takes its name from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

signifying concealment, as they tend to favor sheltered areas on conifer forest floors. The specific epithet, ''bulbosa'', refers to the bulb-like

corm A corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat (perennation). The word ' ...

Description

''Calypso bulbosa'' is a deciduous, perennial, herbaceous tuberous geophyte with a round, egg-shaped tuber as a perennial organ. It is encased in dead leaf sheaths and has elongated roots. ''Calypso'' orchids are typically 8 to 20 cm in height. At the bottom there is only a single leaf, which is stalked up to about 7 cm long. The leaves are whole eliptical lanceolate to egg-shaped blade is up to 6 cm long and up to 5 cm wide. Plant blooms with a purple-pink hermaphroditic, zygomorphic and threefold flower. The protruding petals and sepals are pink to purple in color, about 10 to 12 millimeters long and about 2 to 4 millimeters wide. The lip (labellum) is white to pink with pink or yellow spots. It has a wide, shoe-shaped cavity in the back and is about 15 to 25 millimeters long. A spur is absent. They do not bloom until May and June usually after snow melt. Each bulb lives no more than five years. File:Calypso bulbosa - Flickr 005.jpg, Flowers File:Calypso bulbosa 5499.JPG, Leaf Top File:Calypso bulbosa 5500.JPG, Leaf underside File:Calypso bulbosa var. occidentalis (3).jpg, White form of ''Calypso bulbosa'' var. ''occidentalis''

Taxonomy and systematics

The chromosomes count is 2n = 28. Since the orchid seed does not provide any nutrient tissue, germination only takes place when infected by a Mycorrhizal root fungus.

Taxonomy

The generic name ''Calypso'' , which is still valid today. was described in 1806 by the English gardener Richard Anthony Salisbury (1761-1829) in the work "Paradisus Londinensis", which Salisbury with the then director of the Royal Botanic Gardens in London, William Jackson Hooker (1785-1865), published.

Carl von Linné Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

originally assigned the ''Calypso bulbosa'' to the genus ''Cypripedium'' in 1753. But ''Calypso'' and ''Cypripedium'' now belong to two different subfamilies. The following generic names have been published as synonyms: * ''Cytherea'' (1812) * ''Orchidium'' (1814) * ''Calypsodium'' (1829) * ''Norna'' (1833) The valid botanical species name of the Calypso orchid is: ''Calypso bulbosa'' . The Basionym ''Cypripedium bulbosum'' was described by Linné in "Species Plantarum". The species names listed here are used as synonyms: File:The paradisus londinensis (8318676110).jpg, ''C. bulbosa'' in "Paradisus Londinensis" File:Flora Europaea inchoata (Pl. 7) (6032619343).jpg, Illustration of ''Calypso bulbosa'' as ''Cypripedium bulbosum'' by Johann Jacob Roemer in Flora Europaea inchoata (1797) File:Calypso bulbosa (as Calypso borealis) - Curtis' 54 (N.S. 1) pl. 2763 (1827).jpg, Illustration of ''Calypso bulbos''a (as syn. Calypso borealis) in "

Curtis's Botanical Magazine ''The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed'', is an illustrated publication which began in 1787. The longest running botanical magazine, it is widely referred to by the subsequent name ''Curtis's Botanical Magazine''. Each of the issue ...

" vol.54 (N.S. 1) pl. 2763 (1827) File:Abbildungen der in Deutschland und den angrenzenden gebieten vorkommenden grundformen der orchideenarten (Pl 60 Calypso bulbos) (6022132370).jpg, ''Calypso bulbosa'' Rchb. F. by Kränzlin, Friedrich; Müller, Walter in Abbildungen der in Deutschland und den angrenzenden gebieten vorkommenden grundformen der orchideenarten (1904) ;Varieties Four natural varieties and one nothovariety (variety of hybrid origin but established in the wild) are recognized:

Distribution and ecology

This species' range is

circumpolar Circumpolar may refer to: * Antarctic region ** Antarctic Circle ** the Antarctic Circumpolar Current ** Subantarctic ** List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands ** Antarctic Convergence ** Antarctic Circumpolar Wave ** Antarctic Ocean * Arctic ...

, and includes California, the Rocky Mountain states and most of the most northerly states of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

; most of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

;

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

much of European and Asiatic

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

; China, Mongolia, Korea and Japan—see external links for map.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> It is found in subarctic swamps and marshes as well as shady places subarctic coniferous forests. Although the calypso orchid's distribution is wide, it is very susceptible to disturbance, and is therefore classified as threatened or

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

in several U. S. states and in Sweden and Finland. It does not transplant well owing to its mycorrhizal dependence on specific soil fungi. The corms have been used as a food source by North American

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

peoples. The

Nlaka'pamux The Nlaka'pamux or Nlakapamuk ( ; ), also previously known as the ''Thompson'', ''Thompson River Salish'', ''Thompson Salish'', ''Thompson River Indians'' or ''Thompson River people'', and historically as the ''Klackarpun'', ''Haukamaugh'', ''Kni ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

used it as a treatment for mild

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrica ...

. At least near

Banff, Alberta Banff is a town within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately west of Calgary and east of Lake Louise. At above Banff is the community with the second highest ...

, the calypso orchid is

pollinated Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, a ...

by bumble bees (''

Bombus A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related gener ...

(Pyrobombus)'' and ''B.

Psithyrus Cuckoo bumblebees are members of the subgenus ''Psithyrus'' in the bumblebee genus ''Bombus''. Until recently, the 28 species of ''Psithyrus'' were considered to constitute a separate genus. They are a specialized socially parasitic lineage whi ...

''). It relies on "pollination by deception", as it attracts insects to anther-like yellow hairs at the entrance to the pouch and forked nectary-like structures at the end of the pouch but produces no nectar that would nourish them. Insects quickly learn not to revisit it. Avoiding such recognition may account for some of the small variation in the flower's appearance. Summarized by Coleman and by Boyden

References

External links

* *
Map of distribution

Jepson Manual treatment of the species

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q1141063, from2=Q13398625 Orchids of the United States Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Orchids of Canada Orchids of Europe Orchids of Asia Orchids of Russia Orchids of China Calypsoinae Plants used in Native American cuisine Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Flora without expected TNC conservation status