Front:
MIAMI,
FA
1984
20c
33152
Pacific calypso Calypso bulbosa
Kmishy Roseyberg
Back:
The noted horticulturist, O. O. Nylander, delightfully
described one of the first times he came in contact with
the Pacific Calypso Orchid . . . also known as the Fairy
Slipper. In his words ... “An inviting coolness seeped
from the forest as I strolled between the rough corrugated
trunks, and an undisturbed quietude lay over the green
plateau . . . Beneath low hanging bows of conifers could
be seen the bearded lips of the Fairy Slipper – the
delicate nymphal orchid which hides in wet bogs in our
eastern states and trails in deep moss of woodland in the
Rocky Mountains. The solitary pastel pink-purple flow-
ers, touched here and there with white and yellow,
diffidently nodded on the tips of short slender stems.
Myriads of these dainty little plants grew in a mossy
cushion in the dense shadow of low horizontal spruce
branches. As if to secrete their beauty for some sylvan
sprite, they had hidden themselves in solitude, for no
other herb kept them company ..." The Pacific Calypso
is indeed a remarkably beautiful flower. In fact, to celeb-
rate this orchid's loveliness, the United States issued the
No. 84-14
©1984 The Maximum Card Collection
A Division of Unicover Corporation . Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007
Original painting by Kristin Rosenberg.
