Common Orchid Plant – Brassia Orchid

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Classification

The Brassia orchid plant is a genus of several orchid species, classified in the Oncidiinae subtribe. The genus was named after William Brass, a British botanist and illustrator, who under the supervision of Sir Joseph Banks, collected plants in Africa.

This orchid not only grows in the wet forests of tropical Central and South America, but the Brassia species and it’s popular hybrids are very common in cultivation, and are notable for the characteristic long and slender petals and sepals (in some clones, longer than 50 cm), giving it the common name “spider orchid.” They come in yellow, pale green, and related colors with brown bars. The pseudo bulbs on these Orchids tend to be large, as are leaves.

The Brassia orchid isn’t hard to grow in the home or in the office, but they do require some specific parameters for their growth.
This epiphytic genus (plants that grow on top of other plants, but do not use them as a source of nutrients or water; taking their nutrients from the air) occurs in South Florida, the West-Indies and tropical America, in wet forests from sea level to altitudes under 1500 m, with the Peruvian Andes as its center. Occurrence is mostly restricted to a certain area, but Brassia caudata can be found over the whole geographic area.

Brassia Orchid Species

• Brassia angustilabia Schltr. (1925)

• Brassia antherotes Rchb.f. (1879)

• Brassia arachnoidea Barb.Rodr. (1877)

• Brassia arcuigera Rchb.f. (1869) > Arching Brassia

• Brassia aurorae D.E.Benn. (1992) > Reddish Brassia

• Brassia bidens Lindl. (1844) > Two-toothed Brassia

• Brassia boliviensis Schltr. (1913)

• Brassia caudata (L.) Lindl. (1825) > Tailed Brassia

• Brassia cauliformis C.Schweinf. (1946)

• Brassia chloroleuca Barb.Rodr. (1877) > Green-and-white Brassia

• Brassia cochleata Knowles & Westc. (1838)

• Brassia cyrtopetala Schltr. (1912)

• Brassia filomenoi Schltr. (1921)

• Brassia gireoudiana Rchb.f. & Warsz. (1854) > Gireoud’s Brassia

• Brassia helenae Rchb. ex Linden (1881)

• Brassia huebneri Schltr. (1925)

• Brassia iguapoana Schltr. (1925)

• Brassia jipijapensis Dodson & N.H.Williams (1980) > Jipijapa Brassia

• Brassia josstiana Rchb.f. in E.A.von Regel (1854)

• Brassia koehlerorum Schltr. (1921) > Koehler’s Brassia

• Brassia lanceana Lindl. (1835) > Lance’s Brassia

• Brassia maculata R.Br. in W.T.Aiton (1813) (type species) > Spotted Brassia

• Brassia neglecta Rchb.f. (1856) > Overlooked Brassia

• Brassia pascoensis D.E.Benn. & Christenson (2001)

• Brassia peruviana Poepp. & Endl. (1836) > Peru Brassia

• Brassia rhizomatosa Garay & Dunst. (1965)

• Brassia signata Rchb.f. (1881) > Marked Brassia

• Brassia suavissima Pupulin & Bogarín (2005)

• Brassia thyrsodes Rchb.f. (1868)

• Brassia transamazonica D.E.Benn. & Christenson (2001)

• Brassia verrucosa Bateman ex Lindl. (1840) (subspecies of Brassia gireoudiana, according to Robert L. Dressler and N.H. Williams- 2003) > Warty Brassia

• Brassia villosa Lindl. (1854)

• Brassia wageneri Rchb.f. (1854) > Wagener’s Brassia

• Brassia warszewiczii Rchb.f. (1852) > Warscewicz’s Brassia

Intergeneric hybrids

• xAlexanderara (Brassia x Cochlioda x Odontoglossum x Oncidium)

• xAliceara (Brassia x Miltonia x Oncidium)

• xBakerara (Brassia x Miltonia x Odontoglossum x Oncidium)

• xBanfieldara (Ada x Brassia x Odontoglossum)

• xBeallara (Brassia x Cochlioda x Miltonia x Odontoglossum)

• xBrapasia (Aspasia x Brassia)

• xBrassada (Ada x Brassia)

• xBrassidium (Brassia x Oncidium)

• xBrassioda (Brassia x Cochlioda)

• xBrassochilus (Brassia x Leochilus)

• xBrilliandeara (Aspasia x Brassia x Cochlioda x Miltonia x Odontoglossum x Oncidium)

• xCrawshayara (Aspasia x Brassia x Miltonia x Oncidium)

• xDegarmoara (Brassia x Miltonia x Odontoglossum)

• xDerosaara (Aspasia x Brassia x Miltonia x Odontoglossum)

• xDuggerara (Ada x Brassia x Miltonia)

• xEliara (Brassia x Epidendrum x Laelia x Sophronitis)

• xForgetara (Aspasia x Brassia x Miltonia)

• xGoodaleara (Brassia x Cochlioda x Miltonia x Odontoglossum x Oncidium)

• xHamiltonara (Ada x Brassia x Cochlioda x Odontoglossum)

• xJohnkellyara (Brassia x Leochilus x Oncidium x Rodriguezia)

• xMaclellanara (Brassia x Odontoglossum x Oncidium)

• xMiltassia (Brassia x Miltonia)

• xNorwoodara (Brassia x Miltonia x Oncidium x Rodriguezia)

• xOdontobrassia (Brassia x Odontoglossum)

• xPettitara (Ada x Brassia x Oncidium)

• xRoccaforteara (Aspasia x Brassia x Cochlioda x Odontoglossum)

• xRodrassia (Brassia x Rodriguezia)

• xRohriara (Ada x Aspasia x Brassia)

• xSanderara (Brassia x Cochlioda x Odontoglossum)

• xSauledaara (Aspasia x Brassia x Miltonia x Oncidium x Rodriguezia)

• xSchafferara (Aspasia x Brassia x Cochlioda x Miltonia x Odontoglossum)

• xShiveara (Aspasia x Brassia x Odontoglossum x Oncidium)

• xWingfieldara (Aspasia x Brassia x Odontoglossum)