Peniocereus greggii

Peniocereus greggii is a cactus species native to Arizona, New Mexico, Texas (USA); and Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Sonora, and Zacatecas (Mexico).[1] Common names include Arizona queen of the night, nightblooming cereus and Reina de la noche. The species name greggii honors Josiah Gregg (1806 – 1850), a merchant, explorer, naturalist, and author of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico.

Peniocereus greggii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Core eudicots
Order:
Caryophyllales
Family:
Cactaceae
Genus:
Peniocereus
Species:
P. greggii
Binomial name
Peniocereus greggii
Synonyms

Cereus greggii Engelm.

Description
Peniocereus greggii with fruit in Sahuarita, Arizona.

This cactus has stems about 1/2-1 inch wide with 6-9 edges. Its flowers are white, up to 30 centimetres in diameter with a scent redolent of vanilla. The flowers open after sundown, closing and wasting after a few hours. By 9 am the next day they are gone. They usually bloom one night a year in June or July. In any given area, they all bloom at the same time. They look dead during the rest of the year. They have a large tuber that tastes a bit like a potato. They tend to be ubiquitous throughout the higher Sonoran Desert area around Tucson. See "A Natural History of the Sonoran Desert" published by the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, pg 197.

Tohono Chul in Tucson, Arizona [2] has the largest private collection of Sonoran Desert native Night-blooming Cereus - Peniocereus greggii. Each summer this botanical garden/museum hosts "Bloom Night," the one night each summer it is predicted the greatest number of cereus flowers will be in bloom, opening from 6pm until midnight to allow guests to stroll the grounds and view the flowers.[3]

See also

References
  1. Flora of North America - Peniocereus greggii
  2. "Tohono Chul | Botanical Gardens & Galleries | Tucson AZ".
  3. "Bloom Night - Tohono Chul - Tucson, AZ".


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