Night...err...Day Blooming Cereus

[stonedragonfarms]

Okay all, this was given to me as Epi. oxypetalum...but it blooms in the day and closes up late in the afternoon... anyone have any ideas as to what it might be?
Thanks!
Adam

[Ross]

The only "Night Blooming" cacti I know are Selenicereus and Hylocereus. I have seen the term "Night Blooming Cereus" but always doubted the term. The most common one in cultivation is Hylocereus undatus. I have collected chunks from Florida and they grew like gang-busters.

[isurus79]

Here is a link to a pic Dragonfruit Flower that I got a few months ago from a cactus that produces dragonfruit. I think its the same one that Ross spoke of in the post before this. My flower and plant looks similar to yours, but definitely a different species. Mine also blooms at night, though like Ross' plants he collected in FLA, they grow big and get that way quickly. You definitely have a cool looking flower with that one!

[EdinAZ]

Originally Posted by Ross

The only "Night Blooming" cacti I know are Selenicereus and Hylocereus. I have seen the term "Night Blooming Cereus" but always doubted the term. The most common one in cultivation is Hylocereus undatus. I have collected chunks from Florida :blushing: and they grew like gang-busters.

Ross,

The "night-blooming Cereus" is Peniocereus greggii. It does bloom only at night, and each plant only blooms for ONE night. Regardless of how many blooms it might have, they all come out on ONE night. Sometimes if there are several plants in proximity, they synchronize bloom, so that ALL bloom on the same night . . . then that's it for the year. I'm not sure if it's moths or bats (or both) that pollinate them, but it's amazing they ever DO get pollinated with odd habits like that.

They are semi-common in desert areas around here, but the plants look like a dead stick (plenty of that around in the desert), and often grow under a tree or bush, eventually climbing into it for support. They are so innocous you will almost never see one, even if you are looking. I've spotted exactly one "in the wild" exactly once in hundreds of miles of hiking over the years. They develop an underground tuber that can get to football size and larger, so they can go totally without water for long, long periods (handy in the desert).

I have a couple in my yard (they are readily available at garden centers in Tucson), but I've only seen the bloom there once. The bloom is about teacup size. I don't think they have a scent, but my sniffer is so bad I can't really detect anything subtle. They bloom in May, and it seems I'm always away when it happens.

Some pictures (not taken by me). You can see how the plant is so hard to spot in it's natural surroundings.

[stonedragonfarms]

Thanks for the pics Ed; the growth and flowers look a lot like Selenicereus macdonaldiae...though the flowers on this one are even larger than teacup sized--more like basketball sized; they too bloom only one night, though not all are open at the same time. These are intensely fragrant and are bat pollinated in the wild as well.
Adam

[dounoharm]

adam that looks like an oxypetalum to me...but are you sure it blooms during the day??? you arent hallucenating?? i have had em bloom till ten am or some such hour but never all day....i dont have a clue!

[Lagoon]

Ooh these are so gorgeous

[stonedragonfarms]

Originally Posted by dounoharm

adam that looks like an oxypetalum to me...but are you sure it blooms during the day??? you arent hallucenating?? i have had em bloom till ten am or some such hour but never all day....i dont have a clue!

Nope...no hallucinations...this opens in the morning and closes about 6pm or so...the flowers just last one day.

[dgenovese1]

Hi Adam....I think it might just be a confused cereus. ..I guess you can call it a day blooming cereus.

I have a plant that looks exactly like yours, with the same shaped buds and flowers when it is in bloom mode...but mine behaves as it should...opens at night and closes close to dawn for just one night.

Whatever the case with yours, it is beautiful! How's the fragrance?