Yes, the plant (epiphyllum) only blooms at night, it is only open for a few hours. By morning the flower is already closed and dying. But, while it's open it's very fragrant. You can start it from a piece of a leaf. Yes, mine is very large, it takes up a lot of room. I had it for about 7 years before it bloomed. There are some hybrids out there that come in different colors and will bloom during the day.
I had mine longer than that. I never did get it to bloom and I know it had plenty of light. Well I don't know if it needed it or not. I never new the name so there was no way to look up how to care for it. The flower is beautiful, I kind of wish I had kept it.
Yes mine took up allot of room as well I'll bet at least 4 feet if I was to guess, it had gotten very large.