Brassia

Maxillarieae subtribe Oncidiinae. Brassia section Glumacea has been transferred to the genus Ada.

Caespitose or creeping epiphytes, lithophytes, and terrestrials. Pseudobulbs usually compressed, often sharply two-edged, +/- subtended by usually deciduous foliaceous bracts. Leaves one to several, when more than one often separated by a conspicuous internode. Inflorescences axillary long-pedunculate racemes or panicles. Flowers two-ranked, spidery. Sepals and petals subsimilar, subequal, linear-lanceolate, acuminate, brittle. Lip unlobed or obscurely three-lobed, acuminate, with a basal pair of usually pubescent calli. Column short, straight, without wings or foot; pollinia 2, grooved, on a common stipe and viscidium.

Honoring William Brass, a botanical illustrator of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

A genus of about 35 species found throughout the Neotropics from Mexico to Bolivia and the West Indies. Common name: Spider Orchid.

1 Lip with raised warts. 2 1' Lip smooth, without raised warts. 3 2(1) Center of lip warty in a continuous patch for most of its length, the warts not differentially pigmented. B. neglecta 2' Lip without a continuous patch of warts, with scattered pigmented warts; flowers fragrant of black pepper. B. verrucosa 3(1') Pseudobulbs elongate, to 13.7 in. (35 cm) long. B. cauliformis 3' Pseudobulbs much shorter, less than 5.9 in. (15 cm) long. 4 4(3') Inflorescences usually branched; callus elongate extending to the middle of the lip. B. thyrsodes 4' Inflorescences never branched; callus much shorter, less one fourth the length of the lip. 5 5(4') Pseudobulbs with one apical leaf. 6 5' Pseudobulbs with two or more apical leaves. 9 6(5) Lip oblong to oblong-lanceolate, never with a broadly ovate blade; dorsal sepal more than 2 in. (5 cm) long. 7 6' Lip with a broad wedge-shaped claw and a broadly ovate blade; dorsal sepal to 1.6 (4.2 cm) long. B. maculata 7(6) Lateral sepals extremely elongate, to 7 in. (18 cm) long. B. longissima 7' Lateral sepals to 3.1 in. (8 cm) long. 8 8(7') Lip oblong-oblanceolate, broadest above the middle. B. forgetiana 8' Lip lanceolate-triangular, broadest at the base. B. rhizomatosa 9(5') Callus a basal pair of ridges with 1--2 separate pairs of teeth in front. 10 9' Callus a basal pair of ridges sometimes terminating in raised apices but without separate teeth in front. 13 10(9) Lateral sepals subequal to the dorsal sepal. 11 10' Lateral sepals more than twice as long as the dorsal sepal. B. caudata 11(10) Lip oblong, widest at the middle. B. angusta 11' Lip obovate, widest above the middle. 12 12(11') Pseudobulbs with three apical leaves; dorsal sepal to 2.3 in. (6 cm) long; callus a pair of basal keels with two separate pairs of teeth in front. B. aurorae 12' Pseudobulbs with two apical leaves; dorsal sepal to 3.3 in. (8.5 cm) long; callus a basal pair of keels with a separate high pair of teeth in front. B. wageneri 13(9') Lip with a broad wedge-shaped claw and a broadly ovate blade. 14 13' Lip oblong to narrowly obovate, never with a strongly delineated blade. 15 14(13) Dorsal sepal to 5.9 in. (15 cm) long. B. gireoudiana 14' Dorsal sepal to 2.4 in. (6.2 cm) long. B. lawrenceana 15(13') Lip ovate. B. chloroleuca 15' Lip oblong to narrowly oblong-obovate. 16 16(15') Petals spreading, not incurved with crossed apices. B. mexicana 16' Petals incurved with crossed apices. 17 17(16') Dorsal sepal to 2.2 in. (5.5 cm) long; lateral sepals about three times the length of the lip. B. jipijapensis 17' Dorsal sepal to 1.6 in. (4.2 cm) long; lateral sepals less than twice as long as the lip. B. lanceana

Dunsterville, G. C. K. 1981. Brassia bidens from “Dumpleen Camp.” Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 50(1):17-20; Fowlie, J. A. 1961. Ecology notes: the genus Brassia in Jamaica. Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 30(7):578-580; Kooser, R. G. and G. C. Kennedy 1979. The genus Brassia R. Brown section Eubrassia Lindley. Orchid Digest 43:164-172; Teuscher, H. 1952. Three forms of Brassia longissima. Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 24:820-##; Teuscher, H. 1968. Brassia antherotes (B. longissima). Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 37(2)108-111; Teuscher, H. 1973. Collector’s Item: Brassia bidens, B. neglecta and B. wageneri. Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 42(2):125-129; Teuscher, H. 1973. The two sections of the genus Brassia. Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 42(12):1089-1094.