Accession Data
Selenicereus wittii
Common Name: Moonflower
Family: Cactaceae
Synonym(s): Strophocactus wittii (K.Schum.) Britton & Rose
Country of Origin: Brazil
Description: This epiphyte climbs appressed to tree trunks with leaf-like, flattened stems and is found exclusively along the high waterline of black water rivers (Rio Negro, Vaup&, Apaporis) in the Igapo inundation forests of Amazonia. Ecophysiologically, S. wittii is a crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plant. It bears white, nocturnal flowers 25 cm in length which emit a fragrance consisting mainly of benzylalcohol, benzyl benzoate, and benzyl salicylate. They exhibit an extreme sphingophilous syndrome as an adaptation to pollination by probably only two species of hawkmoth from the genera Amphimoena and Cocytius. The seeds, aberrant for the family, contain air-filled chambers and are water-dispersed. Thus, S. wittii represents the paradoxical life form of an hydrochorous epiphytic cactus which withstands periodical inundation.4
Accession Data
USDA Zone: 10a-11
Accession #: 200800139
Accession Date: 2008-09-09 00:00:00
Bloom Status: 🪴 Not Flowering
Location: 3307
Quantity: 1
Source: Chad Husby - FIU
Provenance:
Propagated vegetatively from Marie Selby BG accession 1978-2001: LOCATION: Brazil, Amazonas, Rio Curicuriari COLLECTOR: Madison, Kennedy
Classification
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Subclass: core eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
SubFamily: Cactoideae
Tribe: Phyllocacteae
SubTribe: Hylocereinae
Flowering Data:
This accession has been observed in bloom on:| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
- Margaret Mee and the Moonflower. Last accessed on Tuesday, November 14, 2017.
- Margaret Mee and the Moonflower at Kew. Last accessed on Tuesday, November 14, 2017.
- The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Last accessed on Tuesday, November 14, 2017.
- Wilhelm Barthlott, Stefan Porembski, Manfred Kluge, Jörn Hopke, Loki Schmidt, Selenicereus wittii (Cactaceae): An epiphyte adapted to Amazonian Igapó inundation forests, Plant Systematics and Evolution 1997, Volume 206, Issue 1-4, pp 175-185.
- Bauer, R.. 2003. A synopsis of the tribe Hylocereeae F. Buxb. Cactaceae Systematics Initiatives 17: 3-63.
- Nicholson, R., The Moonflower, an Exceptional Cactus of the Amazon River in Botanic Garden News, The Botanic Garden of Smith College, Vol 13, No. 1, Spring 2010 pp 3-4. Last accessed on Wednesday, November 15, 2017.
- A Truly Bizarre Cactus From The Amazon at In Defense of Plants. Last accessed on Saturday, November 18, 2017.
- Images #00, #01 & #02 courtesy The Botanic Garden of Smith College. Used with permission.
Images
