''Epiphyllum oxypetalum'', the Dutchman's pipe cactus, princess of the night or queen of the night, is a species of

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 Gree ...

. It blooms nocturnally, and its flowers wilt before dawn. Though it is sometimes referred to as a

night-blooming cereus 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 s ...

, it is not closely related to any of the species in the tribe

Cereeae Cereeae are a tribe of cactus belonging to the Cactoideae The Cactoideae are the largest subfamily of the cactus family, Cactaceae. Around 80% of cactus species belong to this subfamily. , the internal classification of the family Cactaceae ...

, such as ''

Selenicereus ''Selenicereus'', sometimes known as moonlight cactus, is a genus of epiphytic, lithophytic, and terrestrial cacti, found in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. The term night-blooming cereus is also sometimes ...

'', that are more commonly known as

. All ''Cereus'' species bloom at night and are terrestrial plants; ''Epiphyllum'' species are usually

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 ...

Description

The stems are erect, ascending,

scandent A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...

, or sprawling and profusely branched. The primary stems are

terete Terete is a term in botany used to describe a cross section that is circular, or like a distorted circle, with a single surface wrapping around it.Lichen Vocabulary, Lichens of North America Information, Sylvia and Stephen Sharnoff/ref> This is u ...

, up to long, flattened laterally, and ligneous at their bases. The secondary stems are flat, elliptic-acuminate, up to . The stem margins are shallowly through deeply crenate and undulate. Stems appear to be waxy therefore cutin may be present. Cutin reduces water loss from stems. A gel-like substance oozes out of stem cuts. Stems contain much water-filled tissue.

Flowers

The flowers grow on flattened stems and are up to long and wide, nocturnal, and very fragrant. The principal odor components in the aroma are

benzyl salicylate Benzyl salicylate is a salicylic acid benzyl ester, a chemical compound most frequently used in cosmetics as a fragrance additive or UV light absorber. It appears as an almost colorless liquid with a mild odor described as "very faint, sweet-flor ...

and methyl linoleate.

Pericarpel In angiosperms, a hypanthium or floral cup is a structure where basal portions of the calyx, the corolla, and the stamens form a cup-shaped tube. It is sometimes called a floral tube, a term that is also used for corolla tube and calyx tube. It o ...

s are nude, slightly angled, and green.

Bracteole In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or o ...

s are short and narrow up through ca. long. Receptacles are up through 20 cm long, 1 cm thick, brownish, and arching. The outer

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s are linear, acute, 8–10 cm long, and reddish through amber. The inner tepals are whitish, oblanceolate or oblong, acuminate, up through 8–10 cm long and wide. The stamens are greenish white or white, slender and weak. The styles are greenish white, pale yellow, or white, 4 mm thick, as long as inner tepals, and with many lobes. The fruits are oblong, up through 12 x 8 cm, purplish red, and angled. File:Epiphyllum oxypetalum (Dutchman's Pipe, Night Queen or निशागंधी Nishagandhi or Gul-e-Bakawali).jpg File:Anandashayanam poov6.JPG, File:Epiphyllum oxypetalum02.jpg, Detail of the reproductive parts of a bloom File:Epiphyllum oxypetalum's flower of Side.JPG, Side view of an open flower File:Epiphyllum oxypetalum Front Leaf.jpg, Young stem File:Epiphyllum Oxypetalum Leaf Slide 1 (Cross Section).jpg, Cross section of stem under a microscope File:Epi Oxy start2.jpg, Bud

Systematics

This species is closely related to '' E. thomasianum'' and '' E. pumilum'', but quite distinct from them. In 1909, C. A. Purpus collected a slightly different type in St. Ana, Orizaba, Mexico. It has carmine red outer petals and the flowers have an unpleasant smell, rather than being fragrant. It was originally named ''Phyllocactus purpusii'', but is now included within this species.

Name

''Epiphyllum'' from Greek epi- "upon" + phullon "leaf" ''Oxypetalum'' = with acute petals

Range

''Epiphyllum oxypetalum'' is native to Southern Mexico and to extensive areas of South America. It is widely cultivated, with many escapes from cultivation in tropical areas, especially in southeast Asia. It has become

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the i ...

in China.

Cultivation and uses

''Epiphyllum oxypetalum'' is an easily cultivated, fast growing ''Epiphyllum''. It flowers in late spring through late summer; large specimens can produce several crops of flowers in one season. This is a widely cultivated ''Epiphyllum'' species. It is known to have medicinal properties in many Asian cultures, including India, Vietnam, and Malaysia. The plant is widely used in traditional medicine to treat respiratory ailments, bleeding conditions, and is also believed to have the property of reducing pain and inflammation.

References

External links

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Epiphyllum oxypetallum (Brahmakamal) : Orchid Cactus- An interesting plant
{{Taxonbar, from=Q311230 Night-blooming plants oxypetalum Cacti of Mexico Epiphytes