Has anyone run across Calypsoes on the west side of the park? If not, I'll get over to the other side to find them among other things. When do they start blooming usually? Thanks.
I have not seen them before, but I believe that they bloom early to mid july. The terrestrial orchids in the Crested Butte area also bloom around the same time.
Posted by Scott Buckel on May 13, 2006 at 11:04 PM
I have some old notes that I photographed Calpysos in Wild Basin in late May early June several years ago. That was the only time I ever got around to looking for them.
What Scott said. I typically find them in Wild Basin, often just off of the horse trail that runs parallel to the main road. They seem to like the shade of the forest and are usually on the lower slopes of Wild Basin. They should start appearing during the next week or two, though I haven't been there or asked any rangers if they have seen them. Here's a link to a shot I took of one two years ago. They are very small and so you really need to keep your eyes open. For this one, I had to lay on my stomach on the horse trail. Yuck!
Thanks, guys. I'll be over there as soon as the road opens up. I did a lot of orchid chasing back in the Minnesota bog country, so I know what can be involved. Mosquitos, ticks, mud, and skunks!
I saw quite a few of them last year up on the Big South trail in the Poudre Canyon. I'm sure I've seen them elsewhere, but that's the only place I really recall a number of them. It was during the last week of May, first week of June. Would have been somewhere between 8500 and 9000 feet. Here's a link to a shot my father took on the hike. As Erik said, they're quite small, only three or four inches high if memory serves. They also seem to like it damp, or maybe I just remember it that way because it rained on us more than half of that day.
In the park on the west side, the only trail that immediately comes to mind as being the same conditions as the Poudre would be back up by Granite Falls. At least that I've been on.
Should be blooming now or soon. My shots last year were taken around this time; they're plentiful in Wild Basin, but they're not very leafy, and relatively small - not like most Orchids which have plentiful and/or distinct leaves.
Discussion
6 repliesBloom time is probably related to the altitude.
In the park on the west side, the only trail that immediately comes to mind as being the same conditions as the Poudre would be back up by Granite Falls. At least that I've been on.