The single 5-inch-tall stem of this flashy forest beauty bears one flower and one leaf, often soon after the snow melts. The 1-inch bloom fades when pollinated, usually within two weeks. Note the flamboyant pink orchid flower on a leafless stem and oval basal leaf.

FLOWERS: May-June. Purple to pink, slipper-shaped bloom, 3/4–1 3/8 inch (2–3.5 cm) wide; purple lines and spots on pouch, bright yellow markings and hairs at opening of white lip; 5 lance-shaped sepals and petals 1/2–3/4 inch (1.4–2 cm) long spread above pouch.

LEAVES: Single basal leaf, oval, typically 1 3/8 long by 1 inch wide (3.5 x 2.5 mm), dark green, parallel venation, margin entire; appears in fall, withers after blooming.

HABITAT: Deep humus soil in partial to deep shade among leaf litter and moss; spruce, fir, aspen forests.

ELEVATION: 8,000-11,300 feet.

RANGE: AZ, CO, ID, NM, UT, MT, WA, WY; circumpolar.

SIMILAR SPECIES: NM has var. americana with yellow bristles on the lip; var. occidentalis (far west U.S.) has white bristles. Yellow Lady’s Slipper Orchid, Cypripedium parviflorum, is much larger and not closely related.

NOTE: Calypso Orchids have an aroma but no nectar. For pollination, they attract just-hatched queen bees with no experience who enter, and pollinate, several flowers before learning there is no nectar.

NM COUNTIES: Central and northern mountain in high-elevation forested habitats: Bernalillo, Catron, Cibola, Colfax, Lincoln, Los Alamos, Mora, Rio Arriba, San Juan, San Miguel, Santa Fe, Sandoval, Socorro, Taos, Torrance, Valencia.