''Epiphyllum'' (; "upon the leaf" in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

) is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

epiphytic An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

s in the

cactus A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...

family (Cactaceae), native to

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

and South America. Common names for these species include climbing cacti, orchid cacti and leaf cacti, though the latter also refers to the genus ''

Pereskia ''Pereskia'' is a small genus of about four species of cacti that do not look much like other types of cacti, having substantial leaves and non-succulent stems. The genus is named after Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, a 16th-century French bota ...

''.

Description

The stems are broad and flat, 1–5 cm broad, 3–5 mm thick, usually with lobed edges. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are large, 8–16 cm diameter, white through red, with numerous petals. Flowers bloom only at night, and wilt at dawn. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is edible, very similar to the

pitaya A pitaya () or pitahaya () is the fruit of several different cactus species indigenous to the Americas. Pitaya usually refers to fruit of the genus ''Stenocereus'', while pitahaya or dragon fruit refers to fruit of the genus ''Selenicereus'' ( ...

fruit from the closely related genus ''

Hylocereus ''Hylocereus'' is a former genus of epiphytic cactus, cacti, often referred to as night-blooming cactus (though the term is also used for many other cacti). Several species previously placed in the genus have large edible fruits, which are known ...

'', though not so large, being only 3–4 cm long. The broad-leaved epiphyllum (''

Epiphyllum oxypetalum ''Epiphyllum oxypetalum'', the Dutchman's pipe cactus, princess of the night or queen of the night, is a species of cactus. It blooms nocturnally, and its flowers wilt before dawn. Though it is sometimes referred to as a night-blooming cereus, it ...

'') is particularly well-known. It bears large, strongly fragrant flowers that each usually open for a single night only. The plants known as

epiphyllum hybrid Epiphyllum hybrids, epiphyllums, epicacti, or just epis, also known as orchid cacti, which are widely grown for their flowers, are artificial hybrids of species within the group of cacti placed in the tribe Hylocereeae. In spite of the common nam ...

s, epiphyllums or just epis, which are widely grown for their flowers, are artificial hybrids of species within the tribe

Hylocereeae The Hylocereeae are a tribe of cacti. Most are found in the tropical forests of Central and northern South America, and are climbers or epiphytes, unlike most cacti. The tribe includes between six and eight genera in different circumscriptions ...

, particularly species of ''

Disocactus ''Disocactus'' is a genus of epiphytic cacti in the tribe Hylocereeae found in Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. It should not be confused with ''Discocactus'', which is a different genus. Species of ''Disocactus'' gro ...

''. In spite of the common name, the involvement of ''Epiphyllum'' species as parents of epiphyllum hybrids is unconfirmed.

Extant species

, ''

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...

'' accepts 10 species:

Formerly placed here

*''

Disocactus crenatus ''Disocactus crenatus'', the crenate orchid cactus, is a species of cactus and one of the most important parents in creating the epiphyllum hybrids commonly cultivated throughout the world. It is cultivated for its large white flowers. Descri ...

'' (Lindl.) M.Á.Cruz & S.Arias (as ''Epiphyllum crenatum'' (Lindl.) G.Don) *''

Disocactus lepidocarpus ''Disocactus'' is a genus of epiphytic cacti in the tribe Hylocereeae found in Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. It should not be confused with ''Discocactus'', which is a different genus. Species of ''Disocactus'' gro ...

'' (F.A.C.Weber) M.Á.Cruz & S.Arias (as ''Epiphyllum lepidocarpum'' (F.A.C.Weber) Britton & Rose) *''

Disocactus phyllanthoides ''Disocactus phyllanthoides'', the nopalxochitl or German empress, is a species of flowering plant in the cactus family Cactaceae. It is commonly grown as an ornamental houseplant. It is one of the three major species involved in creating the wi ...

'' (DC.) Barthlott (as ''E. phyllanthoides'' (DC.) Sweet)

References

External links

Epi Species (GotEpis.com)
a comprehensive list of genera of epiphytic cacti. {{Taxonbar, from=Q310964 Night-blooming plants Epiphytes Cactoideae genera