Brassavola nodosa

{{Short description|Species of orchid}}

{{Expand Spanish|date=December 2009|topic=sci|Brassavola nodosa}}

{{Italic title}}

{{Speciesbox

| name = Lady of the night

| image = Brassavola nodosa Orchi 03.jpg

| genus = Brassavola

| species = nodosa

| authority = (L.) Lindl.

| synonyms_ref =

| synonyms =

• 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).[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=24208 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]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. 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.