Plant of the Week - Night-blooming Cereus

One of the most unique plants in the desert, the night blooming cereus, is a member of the cactus family that resembles nothing more than a dormant bush most of the year. It is rarely seen in the wild because its so inconspicuousness. But for one midsummer's night each year, its exquisitely scented flower opens as night falls, then closes forever with the first rays of the morning sun.

Night-blooming cereus is the common name referring to a large number of flowering ceroid cacti that bloom at night. The flowers are short lived, and some of these species, such as Selenicereus grandiflorus, bloom only once a year, for a single night. Other names for one or more cacti with this habit are princess of the night, Honolulu queen (for Hylocereus undatus), Christ in the Manger, Dama de Noche and queen of the night (which is also used for an unrelated plant species).

Regardless of genus or species, night-blooming cereus flowers are almost always white or very pale shades of other colors, often large, and frequently fragrant.[citation needed] Most of the flowers open after nightfall, and by dawn, most are in the process of wilting. The plants that bear such flowers can be tall, columnar, and sometimes extremely large and tree-like, but more frequently are thin-stemmed climbers. While some night-blooming cereus are grown indoors in homes or greenhouses in colder climates, most of these plants are too large or ungainly for this treatment, and are only found outdoors in tropical areas.

Some night-blooming cereus plants produce fruits which are large enough for people to consume. These include some of the members of the genus Cereus, but most commonly the fruit of the Hylocereus. Hylocereus fruit have the advantage of lacking exterior spines, in contrast to the fruit of cacti such as the Selenicereus fruit, being brightly colored, and having a pleasant taste. Since the late 1990s, Hylocereus fruit have been commercially grown and sold in tropical locations like Australia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Hawaii.

In the 18th century, Dr. Robert John Thornton commissioned the creation of lavishly illustrated portfolio of flora called "Temple of Flora". Plate #14 is of a "Night Blowing Cereus" (Missouri Botanical Garden Library).
   
In Hawaii, night-blooming cereus crown the lava rocks that border Punahou School. They are so associated with the school that their Hawaiian name is panini o kapunahou.

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