Calypso Orchid

This past spring a friend and I were exploring a remote area in the Uinta Mountains for trout. Along the way he happened to notice this tiny flower, a Calypso Orchid, also known as the fairy slipper or Venus's slipper, and usually found in undisturbed forests. It is classified as threatened or endangered.

He had his trusty camera phone and took this picture. It turned out better than we had expected haha........... Photo by Peter

It is the only species currently classified in the genus Calypso, which takes its name from the Greek signifying concealment, as they tend to favor sheltered areas on conifer forest floors. Their tiny purple blooms, typically about 10 cm in height, can be a pleasant sporadic sight on hiking trails from late March onwards, though in the more northerly parts of their range they do not bloom until May and June. These come to full bloom in nearly 20 years

This is a picyure of how it should look..... haha