.mw-parser-output .hidden-begin{box-sizing:border-box;width:100%;padding:5px;border:none;font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .hidden-title{font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .hidden-content{text-align:left}@media all and (max-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .hidden-begin{width:auto!important;clear:none!important;float:none!important))You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Spanish. (December 2009) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Spanish article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Spanish Wikipedia article at [[:es:Brassavola nodosa]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template ((Translated|es|Brassavola nodosa)) to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Lady of the night
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Genus: Brassavola
Species:
B. nodosa
Binomial name
Brassavola nodosa
Synonyms[1]
  • Epidendrum nodosum L. (1753) (Basionym)
  • Cymbidium nodosum (L.) Sw. (1799)
  • Bletia nodosa (L.) Rchb.f. (1862)
  • Brassavola rhopalorrhachis Rchb.f. (1852)
  • Bletia rhopalorrhachis (Rchb.f.) Rchb.f. (1862)
  • Brassavola nodosa var. rhopalorrhachis Schltr. (1919)
  • Brassavola scaposa Schltr. (1919)

Brassavola nodosa is a small, tough species of orchid native to Mexico (from Tamaulipas south to Chiapas and the Yucatán Peninsula), Central America, the West Indies, and northern South America (Venezuela, Colombia, Guyana and French Guiana).[1][2] It is also known as "lady of the night" orchid due to its citrus and gardenia-like fragrance which begins in the early evening. It has been widely hybridized and cultivated for its showy flowers and pleasing scent.

Scent

Brassavola nodosa is known for its exceptionally strong fragrance, which is emitted primarily after dark to attract night-pollinating moths. As is typical for moth-pollinated flowers, the scent of B. nodosa is described as "white floral". It is dominated by linalool, benzoates, salicylates, and nerolidol.[3]

At dusk, a B. nodosa specimen such as this emits a distinct and pleasant fragrance.

Genetics

The diploid chromosome number of B. nodosa has been determined to be 2n = 40[4]

References

  1. ^ a b Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. ^ Hágsater, E. & G. A. Salazar. 1990. Orchids of Mexico, pt. 1. Icones Orchidacearum (Mexico) 1: plates 1–100. Asociación Mexicana de Orquideología, México, D.F.
  3. ^ Kaiser, Roman (1993). The Scent of Orchids. Elsevier. ISBN 0-444-89841-7.
  4. ^ page 250. Leonardo P. Felix and Marcelo Guerra: "Variation in chromosome number and the basic number of subfamily Epidendroideae (Orchidaceae)" Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 163(2010)234-278, The Linnean Society of London