Brassavola cucullata [L.] R.Br. 1813 is the type species for the genus Brassavola. This genus has 21 species, named in 1813 by the Scottish botanist Robert Brown. The name honors the 19th century Italian nobleman Antonio Musa Brassavola. These species are widespread across Central America, the West Indies and South America. They are epiphytes, and a few are lithophytes. B. cucullata is a medium sized orchid, warm to cool growing epiphyte of coastal rainforests at elevations up to 1800 meters, it has erect, slender, cylindrical, jointed, elongated pseudobulbs, enveloped by white, scarious, tubular sheaths and carrying a single, apical, fleshy, coriaceous, cone-shaped leaf with 20-45 cm long. It blooms in a short inflorescence with 20 cm stalk, born at the junction of the single leaf and terete stem. Flowers are green-yellow with coffee stained edges, the sepals and petals are 9-10 cm long. The lip is 8 cm long, caudate, adnate to the white column, with curved, fimbriate lateral lobes. The flowers are fragrant at night.