Brassia is a genus of orchids classified in the subtribe Oncidiinae. It is native to Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, and northern South America, with one species (B. caudata) extending into Florida.Flora of North America v 26 p 646, Brassia caudata

The genus was named after William Brass, a British botanist and illustrator, who collected plants in Africa under the supervision of Sir Joseph Banks. Its abbreviation in the horticultural trade is Brs.

Description Brassia species and its popular hybrids are common in cultivation, and are notable for the characteristic long and spreading tepals (in some clones longer than 50 cm), which lend them the common name spider orchid.

This epiphytic genus occurs in wet forests from sea level to altitudes under 1500 m, with the Peruvian Andes as its center of diversity. Occurrence is mostly restricted to a certain area, but Brassia caudata can be found over the whole geographic area.

They have large elliptic-oblong pseudobulbs with one or two leaves at the apex, lateral, unbranched many-flowered inflorescences with small floral bracts. The lip is not attached to the column. The pollinarium shows a narrow stipe. There are two distichous, foliaceous sheaths around the base, from which the inflorescence emerges.

Brassia has a very specific method for pollination; it uses entomophily - pollination by insects - and in this case specifically by female spider-hunter wasps of the genera Pepsis and Campsomeris. Mistaken by the mimicry of Brassia, the wasp stings the lip, while trying to grasp its prey without any success. By these movements the wasp comes into contact with the pollinarium, that then sticks to its head. By flying to another Brassia flower, this flower gets pollinated.

List of species , Plants of the World Online accepted the following species:

Brassia allenii L.O.Williams ex C.Schweinf. – Honduras, Panama Brassia andina (Rchb.f.) M.W.Chase – Colombia, Ecuador, Peru Brassia andreettae (Dodson) Senghas – Ecuador Brassia angusta Lindl. – Venezuela, Guyana, northern Brazil Brassia angustilabia Schltr. – Panama, Brazil (Amazonas) Brassia arachnoidea Barb.Rodr. – Rio de Janeiro Brassia arcuigera Rchb.f. – Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru Brassia aurantiaca (Lindl.) M.W.Chase – Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador Brassia aurorae D.E.Benn. – Peru Brassia bennettiorum (Dodson) Senghas – Peru Brassia bidens Lindl. – Venezuela, Guyana, northern Brazil Brassia bowmanni (Rchb.f.) M.W.Chase – Colombia Brassia brachypus Rchb.f. – Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia Brassia brevis (Kraenzl.) M.W.Chase – Colombia, Ecuador Brassia brunnea Archila – Guatemala Brassia caudata (L.) Lindl. – Mexico, Central America, Florida, Greater Antilles, Trinidad, northern South America Brassia cauliformis C.Schweinf. – Peru Brassia chloroleuca Barb.Rodr. – Guyana, French Guiana, Brazil Brassia chlorops Endrés & Rchb.f. – Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama Brassia cochlearis (H.R.Sweet) M.W.Chase Brassia cochleata Knowles & Westc. – northern South America Brassia cyrtopetala Schltr. – Colombia Brassia diphylla (H.R.Sweet) M.W.Chase – Colombia Brassia dresslerorum Archila – Guatemala Brassia ecuadorensis (Garay) M.W.Chase – Ecuador Brassia endresii (Kraenzl.) ined. – Central America Brassia escobariana Garay – Colombia Brassia euodes Rchb.f. – Colombia, Ecuador, Peru Brassia farinifera Linden & Rchb.f. – Ecuador Brassia filomenoi Schltr. – Peru Brassia forgetiana Sander – Peru, Brazil, Venezuela Brassia garayana M.W.Chase – Ecuador, Peru Brassia gireoudiana Rchb.f. & Warsz. – Costa Rica, Panama Brassia glumacea Lindl. – Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru Brassia glumaceoides M.W.Chase – Colombia, Venezuela Brassia horichii (I.Bock) M.W.Chase – Costa Rica, Panama Brassia huebneri Schltr. – French Guiana, Brazil Brassia iguapoana Schltr. – Brazil (Amazonas) Brassia incantans (Rchb.f.) M.W.Chase – Colombia, Ecuador, Peru Brassia jipijapensis Dodson & N.H.Williams – Ecuador (Manabí) Brassia keiliana Rchb.f. ex Lindl. – Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana Brassia koehlerorum Schltr. – Peru Brassia lanceana Lindl. – Panama, Trinidad & Tobago, northern South America Brassia lehmannii (Garay) M.W.Chase Brassia macrostachya Lindl. – Venezuela, Guyana Brassia maculata R.Br. – Mexico, Central America, Cuba, Jamaica Brassia mendozae (Dodson) Senghas – Ecuador Brassia minutiflora (Kraenzl.) M.W.Chase – Colombia Brassia neglecta Rchb.f. – Guyana, Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru Brassia ocanensis Lindl. – Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru Brassia panamensis (Garay) M.W.Chase – Panama Brassia pascoensis D.E.Benn. & Christenson – Peru Brassia peruviana Poepp. & Endl. – Peru Brassia pozoi (Dodson & N.H.Williams) Senghas – Ecuador, Peru Brassia pumila Lindl. – Guyana, Venezuela, French Guiana, Colombia, Peru, Brazil Brassia revoluta Č.Florián Brassia rhizomatosa Garay & Dunst. – Venezuela, Peru Brassia rolandoi (D.E.Benn. & Christenson) M.W.Chase – Peru Brassia signata Rchb.f. – Peru, Bolivia, Oaxaca, Guerrero Brassia suavissima Pupulin & Bogarín – Costa Rica Brassia sulphurea (Rchb.f.) M.W.Chase – Venezuela Brassia thyrsodes Rchb.f. – Bolivia Brassia transamazonica D.E.Benn. & Christenson – Peru Brassia verrucosa Bateman ex Lindl. – Mexico, Central America, Venezuela, Brazil Brassia villosa Lindl. – Guyana, Venezuela, Brazil Brassia wageneri Rchb.f. – Guyana, Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Peru Brassia warszewiczii Rchb.f. – Ecuador Brassia whewellii J.M.H.Shaw Brassia wyllisiana K.G.Lacerda & V.P.Castro

Intergeneric hybrids

× Aliceara (Brassia × Miltonia × Oncidium) × Bakerara (Brassia × Miltonia × Odontoglossum × Oncidium) × Banfieldara (Ada × Brassia × Odontoglossum ) × Brapasia (Aspasia × Brassia) × Brassada (Ada × Brassia) × Brassidium (Brassia × Oncidium) × Brassochilus (Brassia × Leochilus) × Bratonia (Brassia × Miltonia) × Crawshayara (Aspasia × Brassia × Miltonia × Oncidium) × Degarmoara (Brassia × Miltonia × Odontoglossum ) × Derosaara (Aspasia × Brassia × Miltonia × Odontoglossum ) × Duggerara (Ada × Brassia × Miltonia) × Eliara (Brassia × Oncidium × Rodriguezia)page 20 of http://www.cites.org/common/cop/13/E13-P41Annex.pdf × Forgetara (Aspasia × Brassia × Miltonia) × Johnkellyara (Brassia × Leochilus × Oncidium × Rodriguezia) × Norwoodara (Brassia × Miltonia × Oncidium × Rodriguezia) × Pettitara (Ada × Brassia × Oncidium) × Rodrassia (Brassia × Rodriguezia) × Rohriara (Ada × Aspasia × Brassia) × Sauledaara (Aspasia × Brassia × Miltonia × Oncidium × Rodriguezia) × Shiveara (Aspasia × Brassia × Odontoglossum × Oncidium) × Wingfieldara (Aspasia × Brassia × Odontoglossum)

This list does not include nothogenera based on genera that are synonyms of Oncidium, as for instance Cochlioda and Odontoglossum. These nothogenera are now synonyms with other nothogenera in this list, or with Brassia (in the case of Brassioda = Brassia × Cochlioda).

Gallery

References

External links

Pupulin, F. and Bogarin, D.: The genus Brassia in Costa Rica : A survey of four species and a new species; Lindleyana, March 2005 - - On line April 2013 - - On line Dressler, R.L., and N.H. Williams. 2003. New combinations in Mesoamerican Oncidiinae (Orchidaceae). Selbyana 24(1):44–45. van der Pijl, L., and C.H. Dodson. 1966. Orchid Flowers: Their Pollination and Evolution. University of Miami Press, Coral Gables.