Brassavola cucullata (L.) R.Br.

  • Authority

    Ackerman, James D. 1995. An orchid flora of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 73: 1-203.

  • Family

    Orchidaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Brassavola cucullata (L.) R.Br.

  • Description

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    Species Description - Plants epiphytic or lithophytic, caespitose. Roots white, 2-3.5 mm diam. Stems erect to ascending, swollen at base, very slender and wiry above, mostly covered by scarious tubular sheaths, 5- 21 cm long. Leaves narrow, terete, subulate, longitudinally grooved, up to 35 cm long, 2-3 mm diam. Inflorescences terminal, peduncle 1-3 cm long, not exceeding the last sheath, usually single-flowered. Flowers showy, white, often with yellowish perianth tips. Pedicellate ovary 20 cm long or more. Sepals and petals similar, narrow, lanceolate-acuminate, drooping, to 12.5 cm long, 9 cm wide. Lip short-clawed, broadly ovate-cordate, concave, fimbriate around the column, apex long-attenuate, 5.0-9.5 cm long, 1.5-2.5 cm wide. Column clavate, 1-1.5 cm long; pollinia in 4 pairs. Fruits stipitate and beaked; capsule ellipsoidal-cylindrical, 3.5-5 cm long; stipe 1.5-2.0 cm long; beak slender, elongate, 7-9 cm or more. Chromosomes: 2n = 40.

  • Discussion

    1. Brassavola cucullata (Linnaeus) R. Brown in Aiton, Hort. Kew., ed. 2, 5: 516. 1813. Epidendrum cucullatum Linnaeus, Sp. PL, ed. 2, 2: 1350. 1763. Type. Plumier s.n., from Haiti (original illustration at P, not seen; reproduction: Plumier, PL Amer. t. 179, f. 1. 1758). Phenology & Pollination. Flowers appear from late spring through the summer and at night produce a heavy, powerful fragrance that may linger through the day. Brassavola cucullata is probably pollinated by long-tongue hawkmoths (Sphingidae). Illustrations. Foldats, 1970; Garay & Sweet, 1974; Dunsterville & Garay, 1979; Bechtel et al., 1981; McVaugh, 1985; Hamer, 1988; Ackerman & Del Castillo Mayda, 1992.

  • Distribution

    General Distribution. Central America, Mexico, Trinidad, Venezuela, and West Indies.

    Central America| Mexico North America| Trinidad and Tobago South America| Venezuela South America| West Indies| Virgin Islands South America|