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Arizona queen-of-the-night, desert night-blooming cereus, nightblooming cereus, reina de la noche

Habit Shrubs, erect to sprawling, usually inconspicuous.
Roots

turnip-shaped, usually 15–30 × 5–12 cm (much larger ones known).

Stems

gray-green to gray, simple or with 2–5 branches, 40–120(–300) cm, distally 8–20 mm diam., at midlength ca. 10 mm diam., often narrowed toward base;

wood hollow, solid-surfaced cylinders, 4–7 mm diam.;

ribs 4–6, prominent;

areoles (3.5–)12(–15) mm apart along ribs, circular to elliptic, 2–5 × 2 mm.

Spines

(9–)11–15(–17) per areole, usually in 3 vertical rows;

abaxial 3–5 spines appressed, yellowish white throughout or only at tips, to 3 mm, puberulent when young;

adaxial spines black, subulate, to 1 mm.

Flowers

nocturnal (remaining open next day), 15–25 cm;

scales of flower tubes green, tipped red or brown;

outer tepals greenish white with brown to reddish midstripes;

inner tepals white or lightly tinged cream or pink (or rarely all rose-pink), lanceolate-attenuate, apiculate, 4–7 cm, attenuate to mucronate;

stamens 2.5 cm;

anthers cream-yellow, 2 mm;

style white, 10–14 cm;

stigma lobes 9–11, white.

Fruits

bright red, darkening in age, ellipsoid, 60–90 × 40–50 mm.

Seeds

3–4 × 2–2.5 mm.

2n

= 22.

Peniocereus greggii

Distribution
from FNA
AZ; NM; TX; w Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Areoles elliptic, 4-5 × 2 mm; adaxial spines tending to be directed toward tip of plant; abaxial spines directed toward base of plant; flowers 15-17 × 5-6 cm
var. greggii
1. Areoles nearly circular, 2 × 2 mm; spines radially spreading; flowers 22-25 × 7-8 cm
var. transmontanus
Source FNA vol. 4, p. 156.
Parent taxa Cactaceae > subfam. Cactoideae > Peniocereus
Sibling taxa
P. striatus
Subordinate taxa
P. greggii var. greggii, P. greggii var. transmontanus
Synonyms Cereus greggii
Name authority (Engelmann) Britton & Rose: Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 12: 428. (1909)
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