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| Practical ecological knowledge for the temperate reader. |
Calypso bulbosa - Fairy-slipper
- Family: Orchidaceae (Orchid family) [E-flora]
Bulb, Antispasmodic
- Status:Native [E-flora]
- General: "Perennial herb from fleshy, cylindrical or globe-shaped corms; stems 5-20 cm tall, smooth but with 2 to 4 sheathing bracts." [IFBC-E-flora]
- Leaves: "Single basal, long-stalked, blades elliptical or heart- to egg-shaped, smooth, 3-6.5 cm long, stalks 1-6 cm long." [IFBC-E-flora]
- Flowers: "Inflorescence a single, showy, terminal flower, the flowers variegated with purple, pink, and yellow; sepals and lateral petals alike, magenta with 3 darker veins, narrowly lanceolate, 12-25 mm long; lip slipper-shaped, nodding, pouched, yellowish-purple to reddish-purple, variously spotted or streaked with darker purple, 15-25 mm long, the lower portion with apron, hairy above; hood-like column purplish, 8-11 mm long, widely egg-shaped, arched over pouch." [IFBC-E-flora]
- Fruits: "Capsules, erect, ellipsoid, 2-3 cm long." [IFBC-E-flora]
Notes: Two varieties are found in BC
- 1. Bristlelike hairs on lips sparse, whitish; lip apron white, mottled or irregularly blotched with purple................... var. occidentalis (Holzinger) Boivin
- 1. Bristlelike hairs on lips numerous, yellow; lip apron yellowish................ var. americana (R.Br.) Luer [IFBC-E-flora]
Habitat / Range
"Dry to moist, mossy forests in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; var. occidentalis - common W of the Coast-Cascade Mountains; var. americana - common E of the Coast-Cascade Mountains; circumpolar; var. occidentalis - N to AK and YT and S to ID and CA, Eurasia; var. americana - N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to ME, VT, MI, WI, MN, SD, NM and AZ." [IFBC-E-flora] "...emerging in autumn, persisting through winter, withering in summer." [WildPNW]
Ecological Indicator Information
"A shade-tolerant/intolerant, submontane to montane, circumpolar forb (transcontinental in North America). Occurs on moderately dry to fresh, nitrogen-medium soils within montane boreal, cool temperate, and cool mesothermal climates. Rare to occasional (locally abundant on eastern Vancouver Island and Queen Charlotte Islands) in mossy forest understories on water-shedding sites; its occurrence increases with increasing continentality. Characteristic of coniferous forests." [IPBC-E-flora]
Edible Uses
- Bulb: "Raw or Cooked.[22,46,61,105,155] Rather small.[161] Rich, butter like quality.[256] They were usually boiled by the North American Indians before being eaten, though young maidens would eat them raw as they were believed to increase the size of the bust[256]." [PFAF] "The Haida of the Queen Charlotte Islands called this plant "black-cod grease," and boiled and ate the corms, in the same way as "Indian rice" (Fritillaria camschatcensis), and enjoyed their rich flavor. Young Haida women ate them raw to improve their figures. The Lower Lillooet and some Nlaka'pamux people also ate the raw corms in small quantities (Yanovsky, 1936; Turner, 1975; Turner et al., 1990)." [Turner&Kuhnlein]
Medicinal Uses
- Antispasmodic: "The bulbs have been chewed or the flowers sucked in the treatment of mild epilepsy.[257]" [PFAF]
Cultivation & Propagation
Can be rare [Turner&Kuhnlein] and "It does not transplant well[2] owing to its mycorrhizal dependence on specific soil fungi." "...it is very susceptible to disturbance" [Wiki] Yellow listed [Not at risk] in B.C. [E-flora]
References
Page last modified on Sunday, February 20, 2022 3:37 AM
