''Brassavola'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of 21 orchids (

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family (biology), family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan plants that ...

). They were named in 1813 by the Scottish botanist Robert Brown. The name comes from the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

nobleman and physician

Antonio Musa Brassavola Antonio Musa Brassavola (variously spelled Brasavola or Brasavoli; 16 January 1500 – 6 July 1555) was an Italian physician and one of the most famous of his time. He studied under Niccolò Leoniceno and Giovanni Manardo. He was the friend and p ...

. This genus is abbreviated B. in trade journals. These species are widespread across

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

, the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. They are

epiphyte An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

s, and a few are

lithophyte Lithophytes are plants that grow in or on rocks. They can be classified as either epilithic (or epipetric) or endolithic; epilithic lithophytes grow on the surfaces of rocks, while endolithic lithophytes grow in the crevices of rocks (and are als ...

s. A single, apical and succulent

leaf A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the plant stem, stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leav ...

grows on an elongated

pseudobulb In botany, a pseudobulb is a storage organ found in many epiphytic and terrestrial sympodial orchids. It is derived from a thickening of the part of a stem between leaf nodes and may be composed of just one internode or several, termed ''heter ...

. 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 The lips are a horizontal pair of soft appendages attached to the jaws and are the most visible part of the mouth of many animals, including humans. Mammal lips are soft, movable and serve to facilitate the ingestion of food (e.g. sucklin ...

partially enfolds the

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

. This column has a pair of falciform (sickle-shaped) ears on each side of the front and contains twelve (sometimes eight)

pollinia A pollinium (: pollinia) is a coherent mass of pollen grains in a plant that are the product of only one anther, but are transferred, during pollination, as a single unit. This is regularly seen in plants such as orchids and many species of milkwee ...

. Most ''Brassavola'' orchids are very fragrant, attracting

pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female carpel, stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are ...

s with their

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

y smell. But they are only fragrant at night, in order to attract the right

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

. Longevity of flowers depends on the species and is between five and thirty days. In 1698 ''

Brassavola nodosa ''Brassavola nodosa'' is a small, tough species of orchid native to Mexico (from Tamaulipas south to Chiapas and the Yucatán Peninsula), Central America, the West Indies, and northern South America (Venezuela, Colombia, Guyana and French Guian ...

'' was the first tropical orchid to be brought from the Caribbean island

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

. 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:

''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''. sect. ''Cuneilabia''

This section, erected by Rolfe in 1902, is characterized by narrowly constricted labellum bases. The sectional type is ''B. nodosa''

''B''. sect. ''Lateraliflorae''

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

Greges and hybrid genera

''Brassavola'' is in the same alliance as the genera ''

Cattleya ''Cattleya'' () is a genus of orchids from Costa Rica south to Argentina. The genus is abbreviated C in trade journals. Description Epiphyte, Epiphytic or terrestrial orchids with cylindrical rhizome from which the fleshy noodle-like roots ...

'' and ''

Laelia ''Laelia'' is a small genus of 25 species in the orchid family (Orchidaceae). ''Laelia'' species are found in areas of subtropical or temperate climate in Central America, Central and South America, but mostly in Mexico. ''Laelia'' is abbreviat ...

''. 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'' is a species of epiphytic orchid occurring from Honduras to Belize, Guatemala, Mexico and Costa Rica. ''Rl. digbyana'' can be distinguished from the other species of ''Rhyncholaelia'' ('' Rl. glauca'') by the frilled l ...

''. ''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 ''

'' until it was transferred into ''

Sophronitis ''Cattleya'' () is a genus of orchids from Costa Rica south to Argentina. The genus is abbreviated C in trade journals. Description Epiphytic or terrestrial orchids with cylindrical rhizome from which the fleshy noodle-like roots grow. Pseu ...

'' which was then sunk into ''

'' to avoid confusion.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Laeliinae genera Epiphytic orchids