In a recent posting, Juli asked about Brassavola nodosa and Brassavola grandiflora. The following is what my digging has through the literature (at least what I have available) has turned up concerning the subject.
~Brassavola grandiflora Lindley AKA: Many authorities consider this species a synonym of Brassavola nodosa Lindley, or at most, Brassavola nodosa var. grandiflora (Lindley) Jones. Withner (1996), however, maintains Brassavola grandiflora Lindley as a separate species and includes the following as synonyms. Bletia nodosa var. grandiflora (Lindley) Rchb. f., Bletia rhopalorrhachis Rchb. f., Brassavola nodosa var. grandiflora (Lindley) Jones, Brassavola nodosa var. rhopalorrhachis Schlechter, Brassavola rhopalorrhachis Rchb. f., Brassavola scaposa Schlechter. To further confound and confuse the issue, Ames & Correll (1985) listed the following synonyms. Brassavola nodoas var. rhopalorrhachis (Rchb. f.) Schlechter, Brassavola rhopalorrhachis Rchb. f., Brassavola venosa Lindley, Epidendrum nodosum Linnaeus as synonyms of Brassavola nodosa (Linnaeus) Lindley. Hamer (1982), however, treated Brassavola grandiflora Lindley as a separate species but listed only Brassavola nodosa var. grandiflora (Lindley) Jones as a synonym. On the other hand, Williams and Allen (1980) included Brassavola scaposa Schlechter, Brassavola venosa LIndley, and Epidendrum nodosum Linnaeus as synonyms of Brassavola nodosa (Linnaeus) Lindley. The most recent work appears to consider them as separate species. As near as I can determine, however, they apparantly differ primarily only in size, but some writers indicate that Brassavola grandiflora differs from Brassavola nodosa by having broader, flattened leaves and a spotless white lip. _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
