Calypso Orchid in Detail.

These beautiful flowers of the northern forest often take observers by surprise. The plant's single basal leaf is difficult to spot in the forest understory. The flowers emerge quite suddenly soon after snow melt, usually in a small group. After a short blooming period, the entire plant seems to disappear. Both leaf and flower die. One single new leaf grows in August, which will overwinter. Like many orchids, the Calypso orchid is thought to be at least semi-parasitic.
The plant is 4-6 inches tall, with one flower per stem. Stems are purple and slender. The flowers are an inch or more wide, and have a vanilla aroma. They are pink or purple in color, with yellow portions on the lower flower. The sac-like portion of the flower is a highly modified petal. Above the bulbous sac are three pointed modified leaves (sepals) and two pointed petals. The single basal leaf is oval shaped and smooth, up to 1.25 inches wide and up to 2.25 inches wide.
Like many orchids, Calypso orchids have been damaged by people who attempt to transplant them to their own homes. This is all the more tragic because the transplants are almost never successful. The plant does not survive.

Calypso orchids have a spotty distribution throughout the circumpolar north. They are found in the boreal forest, in the mossy understory. They grow in the shade.