Plant and Flower

TYPE Drawing

Photos by Marcos Campacci

Common Name The Carai Brassavols [Named for the city near where the species has been collected]

Flower Size 2" [5 cm]

Found in Minas Gerais state of Brazil in forests with rocky outcrops at elevations around 870 meters as a small sized, subcaespitose, warm growing epiphyte with a short rhizome giving rise to green, smooth, cylindric, 3 to 4 articulated pseudobulbs enveloped by scarious sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, fleshy, rigid, curved, terete, ridged lengthwise, acute leaf that blooms in the spring on a terminal, suberect, shorter than the leaves, racemose, simultaneously to 8 flowered inflorescence carrying peculiar night scented flowers.

Similar to Brassavola reginae but it is smaller plantwise, erect leaves, smaller flowers with bright yellow green tepals, an oval with an obtuse apex, a smaller column, a different stigma shape, the positioning of the viscidium appendages and the positioning of the anther. B caraaiensis is a larger plant with curved, larger leaves, slightly larger flowers with pale green, opaque tepals an obovate acute apically lip and a larger lip, with a differnt positioning of the viscidium appendages and the positioning of the anther

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Coletanea de Orquideas Brasileiras Novas Especies Vol 16 Campacci & Silva 2020 photo/drawing fide

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