Brassocattleya Amethyst, also known as Bc. Amethyst (abbreviated form) is a gorgeous spidery orchid hybrid, obtained using as seed parent Cattleya purpurata (previously classified as Laelia purpurata) crossing it with Brassavola cucullata as pollen parent. This hybrid has long, pointy leaves, very fleshy, shaped in between the very narrow, and almost cylindrical shape of Brassavola cucullata succulent leaves and the broader and flattened, but still quite fleshy leaves of Cattleya purpurata. The colour is bright green and the foliage is already a gorgeous feature of this hybrid, but when this plant is in bloom, in my opinion there are very few orchids than can compare with Brassocattleya Amethyst in the beauty and fragrance of its flowers, that are very bizarre and resemble very much in shape Brassavola cucullata and, weirdly, in some way also the spider orchids of the genus Brassia, that are not close relatives at all of either Brassavola or Cattleya: the tepals and the two upper petals are very similar in shape and very long and thin and very droopy, while the lip is a lot broader and shorter, as in Brassavola cucullata. In the shape you would not recognize Cattleya purpurata at all, in my opinion, however what Cattleya purpurata has given to this hybrid, is the gorgeous flower colour, with pinkish shades on the tepals and upper petals, and a very intense lavander-purple colour on the external part of the lip, with a dark, intricate purple veining; the veining continues in the internal part of the lip, on a white background, making the beautiful veining even more evident. Another unique feature of this hybrid is the fragrance: this hybrid is night-scented, as Brassavola cucullata, but unlike most members of the Cattleya tribe, including Brassavolas, the scent is not citrusy or floral or soapy, but instead is very sweet, almost like marzipan, and reminds me for some notes, very strangely, of the fragrance of Rhynchostylis gigantea and of Phalaenopsis Sweet Memory Liodoro, that are vandaceous orchids and definitely not close relatives of Cattleyas and Brassavolas. The intensity of its fragrance is also quite strong, as I can smell its sweet scent about one metre far from the flower. In summary, I think that Brassocattleya Amethyst combines really the best of both parents, adding some unique features that I did not find in any description of the parent plants (unfortunately even if I have both Brassavola cucullata and Cattleya purpurata plants, they did not bloom yet so I don't have a direct experience to compare the fragrance of these species with Bc. Amethyst). About the cultivation of this plant, I bought it from orchidgarden.co.uk and it was in bark when I received it, but I converted it in semi-hydro about 3 years ago. It loves very bright light and I cultivate it indoors on a south-facing windowsill in my bedroom in Kent (South-East England, UK), without the use of any artificial light, and I fertilize it once every two weeks with Orchid Focus.
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