The Norn, calypso bulbosa, is Protect the Forest’s special flower. You can see it in our logo and on our website. The Norna is a small, beautiful pink-coloured orchid that grows rarely on calcareous moist soil in northern old-growth spruce forests. It is precisely these kinds of forests that our association cares about. We hope that the Norn will help and inspire us to protect, not only these forests, but the entire life of the forest and its as yet undiscovered secrets.
The Norn is named after the Norns, the three goddesses of fate in Old Norse religion. They live at the foot of the world tree Yggdrasil, where they spin the threads of fate that govern the lives of worlds and people. Also from these serious ladies we hope for friendly treatment and encouragement in our work.
The Norna is red-listed as vulnerable (VU) and protected under the Species Protection Ordinance. In Artfakta it says that “the Norn is sensitive to all major interventions in its environment and therefore usually does not survive final felling. It cannot cope with the drying out of the surface layer of the soil caused by final felling, nor the leaving behind of large amounts of clear-cut waste. Driving with forest machines or soil preparation on the growing site itself is also likely to knock out the plant.”
Nornan has also been decimated by lake and river regulations. Many former habitats in coniferous forest areas closest to the rivers have now disappeared.