Calypso bulbosa, the only member of this genus, is an easily-recognized species, geographically widespread though never common; it inhabits a great arc from northern California to the Pacific Northwest, and all down the Rocky Mountains into northern New Mexico. It is not found in Nevada, and has just a few occurrences in Arizona.

Plants grow from a bulb, that typically persists for five years. They have a purplish stem around 6 inches tall, bearing a few (usually two) bracts, and a single, broad, basal leaf, dark green on top, lighter below, crossed by prominent veins. The solitary flower has three pink sepals (occasionally all-white), up to one inch long, two lateral petals, similar in appearance to the sepals, and a broad, pendent, pouched lower petal, centered on a patch of bristly hairs, white, pink or yellow. The upper surface is flecked with purple, the underside more uniformly purple. At the tip are two small projections, the horns.

There are two varieties of calypso bulbosa; var americana has yellow bristles and horns that are shorter than the petal lip, while the less widespread var occidentalis has pink (or white) bristles and horns longer than the petal lip.