RHH's photos with the keyword: var. occidentalis

Here's another photo of the Western Fairy Slipper, Calypso bulbosa var. occidentalis, photographed in Washington Park. The white "beard" or this variety is very evident in the photo and is one of the distinguishing characteristics of this variety (the other North American variety has a yellow beard).

Another picture of the Fairy Slipper, Calypso bulbosa. This is the Western Fairy Slipper, with a white beard (just visible) and a brown-spotted lip. It is the first of our native orchids to bloom and is in bloom already at the lowest elevations. We were out yesterday and visited three different places, looking for Fairy Slippers and whatever else we could find. We found a few of these at one of the locations.

The Calypsos (Calypso bulbosa) or Fairy Slippers are the first of our native orchids to bloom and they are in bloom one again! My wife and I went to Washington Park in Anacortes Monday to see and photograph the Fawn Lilies (Erythronium oregonum) but learned from a friend that the Fairy Slippers were also in bloom, quite early for them. We found them well into their bloom season and spent the day photographing them and the other wildflowers for which the park is famous. This is the Western Fairy Slipper, easily distinguished from the eastern variety by the white beard and brown-spotted lip.

This is the rare albino form of the Western Fairy Slipper, usually pink in color, Calypso bulbosa var. occidentalis fma. nivea. We found several of this this spring when the Fairy Slippers were blooming. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2013/05/orchid-hunting-on-fidalgo-and-whidbey.html

Found and photographed this in Deception Pass State Park last spring on a school camping trip. It reminds me of spring and of how eager I am to be out hiking again, but it is not a perfect picture. I was struggling with low light, a strong breeze and lenses that were fogging when I took the picture. The Western Spotted Coralroot is Corallorhiza maculata var. occidentalis, and is distinguished from the more common form by the rounded lip. It is leafless and without chlorophyll and obtains its nutrients from rotting material in the soil via a symbiotic relation with a fungus.

Another of the native orchids that grows at Goose Rock, this one photographed along the trail to the top. There were a lot of these, but most of them just a stem or two. This large clump was one of the best examples we've seen. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/06/whidbey-isl...

The Fairy Slippers are blooming once again, this year several weeks early. I was in Washington Park and Sharpe Park on Fidalgo Island last week to see them and photograph them. This is the Western Fairy Slipper, found west of the Rocky Mountains and especially in the Cascades, the only variety in our area and distinguished from the eastern variety by the white "beard" and brown markings on the lip. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2013/04/f...

Thought I'd post a close-up showing some of the detail of these lovely native orchids, the first orchids to bloom here in the spring. This example was photographed in Sharpe Park on Fidalgo Island. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2013/04/sharpe-park...

The Western Fairy Slipper differs from the eastern variety mainly in lip color. The Eastern Fairy Slipper has a yellow "beard" and lacks most of the born coloring on the front of the lip. I wanted to post one more picture of my wife's taken in Sharpe Park and this is it. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2013/04/s...

This is Calypso bulbosa var. occidentalis, the Western Fairy Slipper, photographed in Washington Park, south of Anacortes. To give some idea of the size, this is about four inches (10cm) tall. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2013/04/spring-wild... nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2013/04/f...