Brassavola is a genus of 21 orchids (family Orchidaceae). They were named in 1813 by the Scottish botanist Robert Brown. The name comes from the Italian nobleman and physician Antonio Musa Brassavola. This genus is abbreviated B. in trade journals.
These species are widespread across Mexico, Central America, the West Indies and South America. They are epiphytes, and a few are lithophytes. A single, apical and succulent leaf grows on an elongated pseudobulb.
The orchid yields a single white or greenish white flower, or a raceme of a few flowers. The three sepals and two lateral petals are greenish, narrow and long. The base of the broad, sometimes fringed lip partially enfolds the column. This column has a pair of falciform (sickle-shaped) ears on each side of the front and contains twelve (sometimes eight) pollinia.
Most Brassavola orchids are very fragrant, attracting pollinators with their citrusy smell. But they are only fragrant at night, in order to attract the right moth. Longevity of flowers depends on the species and is between five and thirty days.
In 1698 Brassavola nodosa was the first tropical orchid to be brought from the Caribbean island Curaçao to Holland. Thus began the propagation of this orchid and the fascination for orchids in general.
Taxonomy The species of Brassavola have been divided into four sections:H. G. Jones: "Nomenclatural revision o the genus Brassavola R. Br. of the Orchidaceae" Ann. Naturhistor. Mus. Wien 79(1975)9—22
B. sect. Brassavola This monotypic section, erected by H. G. Jones in 1969, contains the type of the genus: Image Name Distribution Elevation (m) B. appendiculata Mexico to Nicaragua B. cucullata - Hooded brassavola, daddy longlegs orchid Colombia to Venezuela and in the Caribbean
B. sect. Sessilabia This section, erected by Rolfe in 1902, is characterized by narrow labella with fimbriate margins to wider labella with entire margins. Image Name Distribution Elevation (m) B. amazonica Brazil, Bolivia B. angustata Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela B. caraiensis Brazil B. ceboletta Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Peru, Paraguay B. fasciculata Brazil B. filifolia Colombia B. flagellaris Brazil B. gardneri French Guiana, Brazil B. martiana S. Trop. America B. pitengoensis Brazil B. perrinii Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay B. reginae Argentina, Brazil, Peru B. retusa Venezuela, N. Brazil to Peru B. revoluta Brazil B. tuberculata Brazil, NE. Argentina and Paraguay
B. sect. Cuneilabia This section, erected by Rolfe in 1902, is characterized by narrowly constricted labellum bases. The sectional type is B. nodosa Image Name Distribution Elevation (m) B. harrisii Jamaica B. nodosa - Lady-of-the-night orchidMexico to Colombia B. subulifolia Jamaica B. xerophylla Guatemala
B. sect. Lateraliflorae This section, erected by H.G.Jones in 1975, is characterized by laterally-borne inflorescences. The sectional type is B. acaulis Image Name Distribution Elevation (m) B. acaulis C. America: Belize
Greges and hybrid genera Brassavola is in the same alliance as the genera Cattleya and Laelia. They have been used extensively in hybridization and represent the "B" at the beginning of the names of such crosses. For example, Blc. is × Brassolaeliocattleya. B. Little Stars, a primary hybrid between B. nodosa and B. subulifolia × Rhynchovola 'David Sanders', a primary intergeneric hybrid between B. cucullata and Rhyncholaelia digbyana. Rhyncholaelia digbyana was formerly classified as a Brassavola; its hybrids have now been reclassified. × Brassocattleya 'Yellow Bird' = × Brassocattleya 'Richard Mueller × B. nodosa × Brassocattleya 'Richard Mueller' is a primary intergeneric hybrid between B. nodosa and C. milleri. C. milleri was formerly classified as a Laelia until it was transferred into Sophronitis which was then sunk into Cattleya to avoid confusion.
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