Badmin: Created page with "{{Taxobox | name = Selenicereus | image = Selenicereus_grandiflorus.jpg | kingdom = Plantae | family = Cactaceae | subfamily = Cactoideae | tribe = Phyllocacteae | subtribe = Hylocereinae | genus = '''Selenicereus''' | authority = (A.Berger) Britton & Rose (1909) | notes = Taxonomy follows Joël Lodé (2015) with reference to Bauer (2003), Arias et al. (2005), Nyffeler & Eggli (2010), and Bàrcenas et al. (2011). }} == Etymology == The name means "Ce..."

2026-04-23T09:35:07Z

Created page with "{{Taxobox | name = Selenicereus | image = Selenicereus_grandiflorus.jpg | kingdom = Plantae | family = Cactaceae | subfamily = Cactoideae | tribe = Phyllocacteae | subtribe = Hylocereinae | genus = '''Selenicereus''' | authority = (A.Berger) Britton & Rose (1909) | notes = Taxonomy follows Joël Lodé (2015) with reference to Bauer (2003), Arias et al. (2005), Nyffeler & Eggli (2010), and Bàrcenas et al. (2011). }} == Etymology == The name means "Ce..."

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{{Taxobox
| name = Selenicereus
| image = Selenicereus_grandiflorus.jpg
| kingdom = [[Plantae]]
| family = [[Cactaceae]]
| subfamily = [[Cactoideae]]
| tribe = [[Phyllocacteae]]
| subtribe = [[Hylocereinae]]
| genus = '''Selenicereus'''
| authority = (A.Berger) Britton & Rose (1909)
| notes = Taxonomy follows Joël Lodé (2015) with reference to Bauer (2003), Arias et al. (2005), Nyffeler & Eggli (2010), and Bàrcenas et al. (2011).
}}

== Etymology ==
The name means "Cereus of Selene", the Greek moon goddess, referring to the nocturnal flowers.

== Description ==
'''Selenicereus''' is a genus of climbing cacti known for their large, nocturnal flowers.

* '''Habit''': Epiphytic, epilithic, or terrestrial; climbing or pendulous.
* '''Stems''': Long, slender; often exceeding 5 m; finely ribbed; with aerial roots.
* '''Branching''': Dense; stems often sprawling or climbing on vegetation.
* '''Areoles''': With short hairs.
* '''Spines''': Small; setose, hairy, or absent.
* '''Flowers''': Nocturnal; very large; self-sterile; intensely fragrant.
* '''Flower size''': Up to ~40 cm long and 20 cm in diameter.
* '''Flower shape''': Funnel-shaped.
* '''Flower color''': Inner tepals white; outer tepals yellow, pink, or brownish.
* '''Floral structures''': Long floral tube with scales, hairs, bristles or spines.
* '''Pollination''': By bats and sphingid moths.
* '''Fruits''': Globose to oblong; fleshy; usually red; edible; often with persistent spines.
* '''Seeds''': Ovoid to kidney-shaped; black; glossy; covered with mucilage.

== Habitat ==
Occurs in a wide range of tropical environments:

* climbing on vegetation
* epiphytic in trees
* near rivers and wetlands
* mangroves and swampy areas

Altitude range: from sea level up to ~2400 m.

== Distribution ==
Widespread in the Neotropics:

* Mexico
* Central America
* Caribbean
* South America
* Southern USA (Florida)

One of the most broadly distributed epiphytic cactus genera.

== Taxonomy ==
A complex and historically fluid genus.

Key points:

* Traditionally included several genera (''Cryptocereus'', ''Deamia'', ''Strophocactus'', ''Salmdyckia'')
* Bauer (2003): redefined boundaries, transferring several taxa
* ''Strophocactus'' re-established as separate genus
* ''Salmdyckia'' transferred to ''Hylocereus''
* ''Nyctocereus chontalensis'' briefly included, later reassigned to ''Strophocactus''
* Molecular studies (Nyffeler & Eggli 2010; Bárcenas et al. 2011) support a monophyletic core (''Selenicereus'' sensu stricto)

The genus is accepted as distinct in Lodé (2015).

== Species ==
According to Joël Lodé (2015):

* [[Selenicereus atropilosus]]
* [[Selenicereus dorschianus]]
* [[Selenicereus grandiflorus]]
* [[Selenicereus grandiflorus subsp. donkelaarii]]
* [[Selenicereus grandiflorus subsp. hondurensis]]
* [[Selenicereus grandiflorus subsp. lautneri]]
* [[Selenicereus hamatus]]
* [[Selenicereus inermis]]
* [[Selenicereus macdonaldiae]]
* [[Selenicereus nelsonii]]
* [[Selenicereus pteranthus]]
* [[Selenicereus spinulosus]]
* [[Selenicereus urbanianus]]
* [[Selenicereus vagans]]
* [[Selenicereus validus]]
* [[Selenicereus wercklei]]

== Notes ==
* Includes the famous "Queen of the Night" cacti.
* Produces some of the largest flowers in the cactus family.
* Strongly adapted to nocturnal pollination syndromes.
* Closely related to ''Hylocereus'' (dragon fruit group).
* Represents a central lineage within epiphytic tropical cacti.

[[Category:Cactaceae]]
[[Category:Cactoideae]]
[[Category:Phyllocacteae]]
[[Category:Hylocereinae]]
[[Category:Selenicereus]]

Selenicereus - Revision history