Brassavola have sympodial or horizontal growth. The rhizome creeps along anchoring itself to a rock or branch. A slender stem covered in a papery sheath arises at each node of the rhizome. Each stem supports a single fleshy, tightly-folded, almost cylindrical leaf. The rhizome divides until the plant forms a neat and often dense clump of spiky leaves.

The raceme arises from the stem emerging from the fold at the base of the leaf. The raceme will bear up to 6 flowers. The lady of the night flower has 5 slender white to pale lime green tepals and a heart-shaped white lip often spotted along the tubular portion.

The white lip of the flower stands out in the night, and even if one cannot see the lip, one has only to follow the nose. The flowers are highly fragrant after dark. Their pollinator is, of course, a nocturnal moth.

 

(Compiled from: “Brassavola”, A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, C. Brickell and J.D. Zuk, eds., American Horticultural Society, DK Publishing, NY, 1997; “Brassavola nodosa (Linnaeus) Lindley”, Orchid Species Culture, Charles and Margaret Baker, Portland, OR; and personal observation)