Western Fairy Slipper

[ronaldhanko]

Photographed in the Columbia River Gorge near Multnomah Falls:



Native Orchids of the Pacific Northwest and the Canadian Rockies: Calypso bulbosa in the Columbia Gorge

[WhiteRabbit]

very cool!

[ronaldhanko]

Thanks. You and Rosie are ubiquitous here on OB.

[Zoi2]

Awesome flower and picture!
Joann

[ronaldhanko]

These are our first native orchids of the spring and always a joy to find.

[RosieC]

Sorry Ron, only just catching up on reading this section since my vacation a couple of weeks back

I just love this one. I always like that you have a Calypso as your avatar on this blog. Is that the same species as this or a different one? I can see a lot of similarity, but I'm not an expert and often miss subtle differences.

Love that waterfall as well

[Lagoon]

what a beauty - gorgeous colors. NICE ONE, Ron

[ronaldhanko]

Thanks, Rosie and Gloria. Rosie, it is the same species both in my avatar on the blog and in the this photo. There is considerable color variation with the species as shown, but they are all the Western variety. There is, however, an Eastern variety which has a yellow beard and lacks the brown spotting on the lip. It is quite different from this:

Native Orchids of the Pacific Northwest and the Canadian Rockies: Fairy Slipper (Calypso bulbosa)

[RosieC]

Yeah, even I can see the difference on that one

I think the delicate shape of the various Calypso bulbosa must be amongst my favourite orchids

[ronaldhanko]

This is one we never miss in the spring. It is not only so very delicate and beautiful, but is also one of the first to flower.