Brassia arcuigera Rchb.f 1869

Flower Closeup Photos courtesy of Daniel Jimenez

Another Plant Photo courtesy of Dale and Deni Borders

To LATE and

Common Name The Arching Brassia

Flower Size 9" long [22.5 cm]

This unifoliate, large sized, hot to cool growing, epiphytic, rarely terrestrial [on embankments] species is found from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru on both sides of the Andes in premontane rainforests on moss covered trees at altitudes of 200 to 1500 meters with elliptic-oblong, strongly laterally compressed pseudobulb with sharp edges, subtended by 1 to 2 foliaceous sheaths with articulate, subcoriaceous, elliptic, leaves that are conduplicate at the base and blooms in the spring on a basal, lateral to pendulous, bracteate, 2' [60 cm] long, several to many [6 to 15] flowered inflorescence arising on a mature pseddobulb and having fragrant flowers. This species has extremely variable flowers even on the same inflorescence and is mostly distinguished by the single apical leaf and the sharp edges on the flattened pseudobulb.

Synonyms Brassia hinksoniana H.G. Jones 1974; Brassia lawrenceana Lindley var. longissima Rchb.f 1868; Brassia longissima [Rchb.f]Schlechter Nash 1914; Brassia longissima (Rchb. f.) Schltr. in part 1914; Brassia rhizomatosa Garay & Dunst. 1965

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 17: 80. Panama Schlechter 1922 as B longissima; Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 17: 80. Panama Schlechter 1922 as B longissima var minor; Venezuelan Orchids Vol 3 Dunsterville & Garay 1965; Flora de Venezuela Foldats Volumen XV Part 5 1970 as Brassia rhizomatosa; AOS Bulletin Vol 55 No 11 1986 photo; Orchid Species Culture: Oncidium, Bakers 2006; The Pictoral Encyclopedia of Oncidium Zelenko 2005; Manual of Orchids Stewart 1995; Orchids of Venezuela ; An Illustrated Field Guide Dunsterville & Gary 1979; Botanica's Orchids Laurel Glenn 2002; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Mora & Atwood 1993; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Dodson 1980; Field Guide to the Orchids of Costa rica and Panama Dressler 1993; Native Colombian Orhids COS Vol 1 1991; Native Colombian Orhids COS Vol 5 1994; Native Ecuadorian Orchids vol 1 1994; Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids Pridgeon 1982; Flora's Orchids Nash & La Croix 2005; Manual of Cultivated Orchids Bechtel, Cribb & Laurent 1982; AOS Bulletin Vol 74 No 3 2005 photo; Vanishing Beauty Native Costa Rican Orchids Vol 1 2005; Orchids of Peru Schweinfurth 1960; Orquideas de la Serrania del Baudo Misas Urreta 2006 as B antherotes; Orchid Species of Peru Zelenko Bermudez 2009 photo fide

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------