Calypso Exuberance

I am mildly obsessed with orchids, particularly native, wild orchids. I love spotting them on hikes and even enjoy those past flowering as I call up a picture of what the blooms looked like in my mind’s eye — one of my wife’s standing jokes is an imitation of me calling out, “Ooh look! A dead orchid!”

Calpyso bulbosa (Dianne Fristom -- CalPhoto)

So it was with great pleasure that I feasted my real eyes on a gorgeous stand of calypso orchids (Calypso bulbosa) growing alongside Harrison Grade Road near Occidental. My wife and I were on a weekend run and she spotted them as I was looking up toward the redwoods on the other side of the road. The calypso orchid is one of my favorites with its exotic, big, purple fringed flower on a tiny stalk. I’ve seen them on Mt. Tamalpais, but hadn’t been in the right spot in Sonoma County before. According to the USDA Fire Ecology Information System (FEIS) and other sources, the flower can be found blooming in California between March and July, though in low-elevation Sonoma County, most will bloom between March and May.

If you’re traveling on Harrison Grade Road, look for the orchids about 1/4 mile west of the Green Valley Road intersection. Other stands occur within the next quarter-mile west as well, though none were as abundant when we viewed them.