Calypso bulbosa
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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.Template:Sfn
Description
Calypso bulbosa is a low growing herbaceous plant with a nearly egg-shaped underground storage organ called a corm. It is encased in dead leaf sheaths and has elongated roots. Calypso orchids are typically 8 to 20 cm in height.Template:Sfn Plants have a single leaf that measures 1 to 6.5 centimeters long with a width of 1.2 to 5.2 cm. The leaf is suborbiculate, nearly circular, or ovate, egg shaped in outline. The base of the leaf is often cordate, having an indentation like the top of a heart.Template:Sfn The leaf often has a very long petiole, a leaf stalk attaching it to the plant.Template:Sfn The leaf sprouts in the autumn and remains green over the winter. It withers a short time after flowering.Template:Sfn
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.Template:Sfn They do not bloom until May and June usually after snow melt.Template:Sfn A new bulb is formed by the plant each year, but bulbs from one or two years prior can remain attached and firm.Template:Sfn Plants seldom live for longer than five years.Template:Sfn
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Flowers
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Leaf Top
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Leaf underside
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White form of Calypso bulbosa var. occidentalis
Taxonomy and systematics
The chromosome 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 accepted generic name Calypso SalisbScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". was described in 1808 by the English gardener Richard Anthony Salisbury in the work Paradisus Londinensis.Template:Sfn It was published with the then-director of the Royal Botanic Gardens in London, William Jackson Hooker (1785–1865).Script error: No such module "Unsubst". In 1905, Homer Doliver House proposed that the genus be renamed as Cytherea because of the earlier publication of Calypso by Louis-Marie Aubert du Petit-Thouars 1804, regarded as a synonym of Salacia.Template:Sfn In 1930 it was made a conserved name by the International Botanical Congress.Template:Sfn
The following generic names have been published as synonyms:Template:Sfn
- Cytherea Salisb.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". (1812)
- Orchidium Sw.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". (1814)
- Calypsodium LinkScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". (1829)
- Norna Wahlenb.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". (1833)
Calypso bulbosa was assigned to the genus Cypripedium in 1753 by Carl von Linné in Species Plantarum. It was moved to the genus Calypso by the botanist William Oakes 1842.Template:Sfn
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C. bulbosa in "Paradisus Londinensis"
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Illustration of Calypso bulbosa as Cypripedium bulbosum by Johann Jacob Roemer in Flora Europaea inchoata (1797)
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Illustration of Calypso bulbosa (as syn. Calypso borealis) in "Curtis's Botanical Magazine" vol.54 (N.S. 1) pl. 2763 (1827)
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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 varieties and one nothovariety, a variety of hybrid origin that is established in the wild, are recognized:Template:Sfn
| Image | Variety | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| File:Calypso bulbosa (8883583432).jpg | Calypso bulbosa var. americana (R.Br.) Luer | most of Canada, western and northern United States |
| File:Calypso bulbosa Finland, Keminmaa 2014-05-23.jpg | Calypso bulbosa var. bulbosa | Sweden, Finland, Baltic States, much of Russia, Mongolia, Korea |
| File:Calypso bulbosa nothovar. kostiukiae - Kate 01.jpg | Calypso bulbosa nothovar. kostiukiae Catling | Alberta (C. bulbosa var. americana × C. bulbosa var. occidentalis)Template:Sfn |
| File:Calypsobulbosa.jpg | Calypso bulbosa var. occidentalis (Holz.) Cockerell | from Alaska and British Columbia south through the Cascades, Rockies, and Sierra Nevada to California |
| File:Calypso bulbosa, Japan 1.JPG | Calypso bulbosa var. speciosa (Schltr.) Makino | Japan, China (Gansu, Jilin, Nei Mongol, Sichuan, Tibet, Yunnan)[1] |
Synonyms
Calypso bulbosa has Template:Table row counter synonyms of the species or one of its four varieties, including 16 species.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn
| Name | Year | Rank | Synonym of: | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calypso americana R.Br.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1813 | species | var. americana | ≡ hom. |
| Calypso borealis Salisb.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1808 | species | C. bulbosa | ≡ hom., nom. superfl. |
| Calypso bulbosa f. albiflora P.M.Br.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1995 | form | var. americana | = het. |
| Calypso bulbosa subsp. americana (R.Br.) A.HainesScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 2010 | subspecies | var. americana | ≡ hom. |
| Calypso bulbosa f. americana (R.Br.) P.M.Br.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1995 | form | var. americana | ≡ hom. |
| Calypso bulbosa f. biflora P.M.Br.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 2004 | form | var. americana | = het. |
| Calypso bulbosa f. candida Hyl.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1945 | form | var. bulbosa | = het. |
| Calypso bulbosa f. nivea P.M.Br.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1995 | form | var. occidentalis | = het. |
| Calypso bulbosa subsp. occidentalis (Holz.) Calder & Roy L.TaylorScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1963 | subspecies | var. occidentalis | ≡ hom. |
| Calypso bulbosa f. occidentalis Holz.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1895 | form | var. occidentalis | ≡ hom. |
| Calypso bulbosa f. rosea P.M.Br.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1995 | form | var. americana | = het. |
| Calypso occidentalis (Holz.) A.HellerScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1898 | species | var. occidentalis | ≡ hom. |
| Calypso speciosa Schltr.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1919 | species | var. speciosa | ≡ hom. |
| Calypsodium boreale LinkScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1829 | species | C. bulbosa | ≡ hom., nom. superfl. |
| Cymbidium boreale Sw.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1799 | species | C. bulbosa | ≡ hom., nom. superfl. |
| Cypripedium bulbosum L.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1753 | species | C. bulbosa | ≡ hom. |
| Cytherea borealis Salisb.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1812 | species | C. bulbosa | ≡ hom., nom. superfl. |
| Cytherea bulbosa (L.) HouseScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1905 | species | C. bulbosa | ≡ hom. |
| Cytherea bulbosa var. occidentalis (Holz.) CockerellScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1915 | variety | var. occidentalis | ≡ hom. |
| Cytherea occidentalis (Holz.) A.HellerScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1906 | species | var. occidentalis | ≡ hom. |
| Cytherea speciosa (Schltr.) MakinoScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1929 | species | var. speciosa | ≡ hom. |
| Limodorum boreale Sw.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1805 | species | C. bulbosa | ≡ hom., nom. superfl. |
| Norna borealis Wahlenb.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1833 | species | C. bulbosa | ≡ hom., nom. superfl. |
| Norna borealis var. americana (R.Br.) Wahlenb.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1826 | variety | var. americana | ≡ hom. |
| Norna borealis var. asiatica Wahlenb.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1826 | variety | var. bulbosa | = het. |
| Norna borealis var. europaea Wahlenb.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1826 | variety | C. bulbosa | ≡ hom., not validly publ. |
| Orchidium americanum (R.Br.) Steud.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1841 | species | var. americana | ≡ hom. |
| Orchidium arcticum Sw.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1814 | species | C. bulbosa | ≡ hom., not validly publ. |
| Orchidium boreale Sw.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 1816 | species | C. bulbosa | ≡ hom., nom. superfl. |
| Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym; = heterotypic synonym | ||||
Names
The genus Calypso is named in reference to the nymph Calypso, whose name means concealment. The habitat of these plants in the deep woods habitat metaphorically hides them from plant hunters. The species name, bulbosa, means possessing a bulb, referring to its growth habit.Template:Sfn Calypso bulbosa is known by the common names fairy slipper,Template:Sfn fairyslipper orchid,Template:Sfn and fairy-slipper orchid,Template:Sfn due to the prominent lower lip of the flower resembling a slipper.Template:Sfn Similarly it is known as Venus slipper or Venus' slipper,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn but this name is also applied to orchids of the genus Cypripedium because of the mythological association with the goddess Venus.Template:Sfn It is also known as angel slipper, slipper orchid, redwoods orchid, deer-head orchid,Template:Sfn and calypso.Template:Sfn
Range and habitat
This species' range is circumpolar, extending around the northern hemisphere.Template:Sfn In Europe this includes just Sweden, Finland, the Baltic states, and the northern parts of European Russia.Template:Sfn 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.[2][3] It is found in subarctic swamps and marshes as well as shady places subarctic coniferous forests.
Conservation
Although the calypso orchid's distribution is wide, it is very susceptible to disturbance. The conservation organization NatureServe evaluated the species in 2025 and found it to be secure at the global level (G5). However, in the United States they found it to be vulnerable (S3) in Arizona, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Maine. In two other states, Wisconsin and Michigan, they rated it as imperiled (S2). In Canada it also is rated as vulnerable in Saskatchewan and the Yukon Territory and imperiled in New Brunswick. More critically it is critically imperiled (S1) on the Island of Newfoundland and possibly locally extinct in Nunavut.Template:Sfn
In Sweden it was listed as vulnerable in the 2020 Swedish Red List.Template:Sfn Similarly, Finland evaluated it as vulnerable in the 2019 national Red Book.Template:Sfn
Ecology
At least near Banff, Alberta, the calypso orchid is pollinated by bumble bees (Bombus (Pyrobombus) and B. Psithyrus). 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.[3][4]
Uses
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.Template:Sfn 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.[5]
References
Citations
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External links
- Pages with script errors
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- Orchids of the United States
- Plants described in 1753
- Botanical 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