Calypso Bulbosa (Fairy Slipper)

Calypso bulbosa, more commonly called fairy slipper, is a diminutive orchid found on the forest floors in Western Montana in early spring.  The flowers are the size of the end of your pinky and rise no more than a few inches above the forest duff from which they have emerged.

Fairy slippers are study in living spare.  The plant, a perennial, produces but a single leaf, and does so in the autumn, generally around September.  This leaf survives through winter, tolerating deep snow in the northern parts of its range. With the arrival of spring, the orchid plant uprights its showy flowers.  At the same time the single leaf of the plant begins to fade away.  In the end, the orchid is leafless for most of the summer.

To survive with such a spare footprint, the fairy slipper is a parasite.  They thrive by exploiting a fungus in the soil that shares nutrients taken from the roots of trees.  If you know much about Indian paintbrush, this is a familiar story.  They are a parasite of similar fashion.  This means, among other things, neither plant can be successfully transplanted.

Finally, the flower of the fairy slipper orchid possesses no nectar.  This renders the flower useless to pollinators.  The orchid must attract pollinators by deception.  The scent and shape of the flower mimics those that do have nectar, which lures in soon-to-be-frustrated bumble bees.

Today, I share my annual photograph of fairy slippers from alongside my cabin in the woods.

Fairy Slipper Flowers

—Mitchell Hegman