Brassia bidens Lindley 1844 Photo courtesy of Jay Pfahl

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Common Name The Two-Toothed Brassia

Flower Size 1 1/2" wide [3.75 cm]

Collected in northern Peru but found north to Venezuela, Guyana as well as Brazil at altitudes of 200 to 1200 meters occuring as a medium to large sized, hot to warm growing epiphyte or a terrestrial with ellipsoid to oblong, somewhat laterally compressed, light green pseudobulbs that carry, usually 2, apical, oblong to elliptic oblong, subacute, light green leaves. It is a more miniature plant than other Brassia that I am aware and it blooms with a short, axillary, erect raceme with several to many flowers which are only about 3 1/2" across which is quite small for this genus and arise on a mature pseudobulb.

Synonyms Brassia lanceana var. viridiflora Hook. 1841; Oncidium bidens (Lindl.) Rchb. f. 1863

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Venezuelan Orchids Vol 2 Dunsterville & Garay 1961 drawing fide; Flora de Venezuela Foldats Volumen XV Part 5 1970 drawing good; Orchids of Venezuela ; An Illustrated Field Guide Vol 1 Dunsterville & Gary 1979 drawing ok; Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 1 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 drawing fide; Orchid Species Culture: Oncidium, Bakers 2006; Manual of Orchids Stewart 1993; Orchids of Venezuela; field guide to Identification Dunsterville & Garay 1979; Orchids of Peru Schweinfurth 1960; Native Colombian Orchids Vol 1 COS 1990 photo ok; Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana Vol 7 Steyermark, Berry, Yatskievych and Holst 2003 drawing ok; Las Orquideas del Peru Izerskyy & Bezverhov 2011 photo fide

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