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(Last Modified On 2/4/2013)
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(Last Modified On 2/4/2013)
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Species
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BRASSIA LONGISSIMA (Rchb. f.) Nash
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PlaceOfPublication
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Bailey, Stand. Cyclop. Hort. 1:541. March, 1914.
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Synonym
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Brassia Lawrenciana Lindl. var. longissima Rchb. f. in Gard. Chron. 1313. 1868. Brassia longissima (Rchb. f.) Schltr. Die Orchideen, 496. October 1914, as to basinym, but only in part as to plant described.
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Description
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Erect, epiphytic herbs with approximate, very strongly flattened, oblong to elliptic-oblong, monophyllous pseudobulbs, with very thin, acute margins, 4-16 cm. long and 3-5 cm. wide, the bases enveloped in several conduplicate, imbri- cating, papery bracts, the uppermost one of which is usually shortly foliaceous. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, acute, coriaceous, 25-55 cm. long and 4-7 cm. wide, the bases contracted into very short, conduplicate petioles. Inflorescences 1 or rarely 2, arching, few-to many-flowered racemes 25-45 cm. long, produced from the bases of the pseudobulbs. Flowers large and conspicuous, with elongate, fili- form, lateral sepals. Sepals yellow to greenish yellow, spotted or blotched reddish brown near the base, the dorsal sepal narrowly linear-lanceolate, long-attenuate, 8-10 mm. long and 3-4 mm. wide at the base, the lateral sepals conspicuously longer, narrowly linear-lanceolate, caudate, 10-1& cm. long and 0.3-0.4 cm. wide. Petals shorter than the dorsal sepal, yellow to greenish yellow, reddish brown near the base, narrowly linear-lanceolate, the attenuate apices subfalcately incurving, 4-5 cm. long and 0.3-0.4 cm. wide at the base. Lip entire, pale yellow to greenish white, with sparse reddish brown spots near the base, lanceolate, acuminate, 3-5 cm. long and 1.0-1.5 cm. wide, the base somewhat concave with erect margins, adnate to the base of the column, the disk with an erect, fleshy, minutely puberu- lent, bilamellate, obliquely truncate callus. Column short, semiterete, about 8 mm. long, the base without a foot.
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Distribution
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Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, and probably adjacent territories.
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Specimen
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COCLE: region north of El Valle de Anton, 1000 m., Fairchild s. n.; Loma del Tigre, hills north of El Valle, 3000 ft., Allen 4562.
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Note
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This very distinctive species has thus far been found only twice in Panama, both times in the wet highland forests north of El Valle de Anton, in Cocle Province, at about 3000 ft. elevation, although the species is to be expected gen- erally in similar areas on the Atlantic slope. Since there seems to be some confusion in regard to the application of the name Brassia longissima, it might be well to give something of its history. Both (511) This content downloaded on Sun, 20 Jan 2013 11:17:36 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions[VOL. 36 176 ANNALS OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN Fig. 198. Brassia longissima Nash (in Bailey Stand. Cyclop. Hort. 1:541. March, 1914) and Schlech- ter (Die Orchideen, 496. October, 1914) decided that the entity hitherto known as Brassia Lawrenciana Lindl. var. longissima Rchb. f. actually represented a distinct species, citing Reichenbach's variety as the name-bringing synonym. The accompanying description given by Nash, whose publication antedated that of Schlechter by some six months, essentially followed Reichenbach's original, while that of Schlechter was apparently based on two distinct elements: the Reichenbach variety of B. Lawrenciana, and a very different plant that we now know was a large-flowered form of B. candata (Powell &7). Although under the rules, the name of B. kongissima (Rchb. f.) Schltr. must be regarded as synonymous with the name-bringing synonym, or the first published derivative name therefrom, there can be no doubt that the plant which Schlechter had in mind was a largeflowered form of B. caudata. This is further borne out by his subsequent descrip- tion of another, smaller-flowered form of B. caudata under the name of B. longissima var. minor (in Fedde Rep. Sp. Nov. Beih. 17:80. 1922).
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