Fairy slippers; Calypso bulbosa

Fairy slippers, also called Calypso, are an orchid-like flower that is not uncommon in forests around here. They can be found in the woods a month or so after the snow melts. But white fairy slippers are somewhat rare. While I informally have called these albinos, Doug Robertson observes that that is not correct from a genetic viewpoint and the term “color morph” is more accurate.

And here is one that survived a May 26, 2012, snowstorm. Many of its cousins lost their lives in this storm. This image won first place in a Continental Divide Land Trust photo contest judged by John Fielder.