Brassavola

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Ordo: Asparagales

Familia: Orchidaceae
Subfamilia: Epidendroideae
Tribus: Epidendreae
Subtribus: Laeliinae
Genus: Brassavola
Sectiones: (4)
B. sect. Brassavola – B. sect. Cuneilabia – B. sect. Lateraliflorae – B. sect. Sessililabia
Overview of species (24)

B. acaulis – B. angustata – B. appendiculata – B. ceboletta – B. cucullata – B. fasciculata – B. filifolia – B. flagellaris – B. gardneri – B. gillettei – B. grandiflora – B. harrisii – B. martiana – B. nodosa – B. perrinii – B. pitengoensis – B. reginae – B. retusa – B. revoluta – B. rhomboglossa – B. subulifolia – B. tuberculata – B. venosa – B. xerophylla
Nothogenus:

× Brassocattleya Rolfe
Name

Brassavola R.Br. in W.T.Aiton, Hortus Kew. 5: 216 (1813), nom. cons.

Type species: Brassavola cucullata (L.) R.Br. (1813)

Synonymy

Heterotypic
Epidendrum L., Sp. Pl.: 952 (1753), nom. rej.
Lysimnia Raf., Fl. Tellur. 4: 43 (1838)
Tulexis Raf., Fl. Tellur. 4: 42 (1838)

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Northern America
Mexico
Mexico Northeast, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southwest, Mexico Southeast.
Southern America
Central America
Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama.
Caribbean
Aruba, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, Netherlands Antilles, Puerto Rico, Southwest Caribbean, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Islands.
Northern South America
French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela.
Western South America
Bolivia, Colombia, Peru.
Brazil
Brazil West-Central, Brazil Northeast, Brazil Southeast, Brazil North, Brazil South.
Southern South America
Argentina Northeast, Paraguay.

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Brown, R. 1813. Hortus Kewensis; or, a Catalogue of the Plants Cultivated in the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew. London (2nd ed.) 5: 216.
Pridgeon, A.M., Cribb, P.J., Chase, M.W. & Rasmussen, F.N. (eds.) 2006. Genera Orchidacearum Volume 4 Epidendroideae (Part one); page 205 ff., Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-850712-7. Reference page.

Additional references

Jones, H.G. 1975. Nomenclatural revision of the genus Brassavola R.Br. of the Orchidaceae. Ann. Naturhistor. Mus. Wien 79: 9–22.

Links

Global Biodiversity Information Facility. 2021. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset. Taxon: Brassavola. Accessed: 2021 Mar 22.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Brassavola in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2021 Mar 22. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Brassavola in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2021 Mar 22. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2021. Brassavola. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2021. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2021 Mar 22. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2021. Brassavola. Published online. Accessed: 22 Mar 2021.
Tropicos.org 2021. Brassavola. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 22 Mar 2021.

Vernacular names

العربية: براسافولا
فارسی: براساولا
suomi: Brassavolat
日本語: ブラッサボラ属
перем коми: Брассавола
коми: Брассавола
lietuvių: Vaurutė
олык марий: Брассавола
кырык мары: Брассавола
svenska: Nattstjärnesläktet
удмурт: Брассавола

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.[1] 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.
Lady-of-the-night Orchid
Brassavola nodosa

Taxonomy

The species of Brassavola have been divided into four sections:[2]
B. sect. Brassavola

This monotypic section, erected by H. G. Jones in 1969, contains the type of the genus:

B. cucullata - Hooded brassavola, daddy longlegs orchid (Mexico to N. South America)

B. sect. Sessilabia

This section, erected by Rolfe in 1902, is characterized by narrow labella with fimbriate margins to wider labella with entire margins.

B. fasciculata (Brazil)
B. filifolia (Colombia)
B. flagellaris (Brazil)
B. gardneri (French Guiana, Brazil)
B. martiana (S. Trop. America)
B. perrinii (Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay)
B. reginae (Argentina, Brazil, Peru)
B. retusa (Venezuela, N. Brazil to Peru)
B. revoluta (Brazil)
B. rhomboglossa (WC. & S. 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

B. gillettei (Trinidad)
B. grandiflora (C. America to Colombia)
B. harrisii (Jamaica)
B. nodosa - Lady-of-the-night orchid (Mexico to Trop. America)
B. subulifolia (Jamaica)
B. venosa (SE. Mexico to C. America)

B. sect. Lateraliflorae

This section, erected by H.G.Jones in 1975, is characterized by laterally-borne inflorescences. The sectional type is B. acaulis

B. acaulis (C. America: Belize)

Other species

Other species accepted as of May 2014[1] but of unknown section:

B. angustata (Trinidad-Tobago, Guyana, Venezuela, Suriname, Roraima)
B. ceboletta (Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Peru, Paraguay)

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.

References

"Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families". Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
H. G. Jones: "Nomenclatural revision o the genus Brassavola R. Br. of the Orchidaceae" Ann. Naturhistor. Mus. Wien 79(1975)9—22