Brassavola cucullata (...or is it?)

[papayj]

After a couple of years of waiting, it finally bloomed. I always wondered how the upper sepal would open up and I found that it just snaps open like a spring or a mousetrap, and almost instantly, it rolls backwards. Fascinating!

Just like its cousins, it has nightly scent--I find it a bit more spicy/pungent and citrus-like than nodosa. However, the fragrance is a bit weaker, and it gets overpowered by my Ang. didieri every night.



Anyway, one of the articles in the recent issue of AOS magazine says that "true" B. cucullata has 8 pollinia while B. appendiculata, which many considered to be a mere synonym of B. cucullata, actually has 12; it is definitely an interesting info, and I am definitely going to check it out with my plant. Perhaps yet another label change is in order...