Peniocereus greggii

Peniocereus greggii subsp. transmontanus

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Ordo: Caryophyllales

Familia: Cactaceae
Subfamilia: Cactoideae
Tribus: Echinocereeae
Genus: Peniocereus
Subgenus: P. subg. Peniocereus
Species: Peniocereus greggii
Subspecies: P. g. subsp. greggii – P. g. subsp. transmontanus
Name

Peniocereus greggii (Engelm.) Britton & Rose, (1909).
Note

The specific epithet honors the American cactus collector Josiah Gregg (1806–1850).
Synonyms

Cereus greggii Engelm., Mem. Tour N. Mexico: 102. 1848 syn. sec. ???
Peniocereus greggii subsp. greggii syn. sec. ???
Cereus pottsii Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck., ed. 1849: 208. 1850 syn. sec. Kew WCVP (2019)
Cereus greggii var. cismontanus Engelm. in Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 3: 287. 1856 syn. sec. Kew WCVP (2019)
Cereus greggii var. roseiflorus Kunze in Monatsschr. Kakteenk. 20: 172. 1910 syn. sec. Kew WCVP (2019)

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Northern America
Regional: Western Central USA
SE. Arizona to W. Texas
Regional: Mexico
N. Mexico.

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Britton, N.L. & Rose, J.N. 1909. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium. Smithsonian Institution 12: 428.

Additional references

Hunt, D.R. (1991) Bradleya 9: 89.
Korotkova, N., Aquino, D., Arias, S., Eggli, U., Franck, A. , Gómez-Hinostrosa, C., Guerrero, P.C., Hernández, H.M., Kohlbecker, A., Köhler, M., Luther, K., Majure, L.C., Müller, A., Metzing, D., Nyffeler, R., Sánchez, D., Schlumpberger, B. & Berendsohn, W.G. 2021. Cactaceae at Caryophyllales. org–a dynamic online species-level taxonomic backbone for the family. Willdenowia 51(2): 251–270. DOI: 10.3372/wi.51.51208 Open access Reference page.

Links

Korotkova, N. et al. 2021. Peniocereus greggii in Cactaceae at Caryophyllales.org. A global synthesis of species diversity in the angiosperm order Caryophyllales. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Dec 19. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Peniocereus greggii in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Dec 19. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2021. Peniocereus greggii. Published online. Accessed: Dec 19 2021.
Tropicos.org 2021. Peniocereus greggii. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Dec 19.
Hassler, M. 2021. Peniocereus greggii. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2021. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Dec 19. Reference page.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Peniocereus greggii in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 07-Oct-06.

Vernacular names
English: Arizona Queen of the Night, Deer-Horn Cactus, Night-Blooming Cereus, Sweet Potato Cactus
español: Reina de la Noche

Peniocereus greggii is a cactus species native to Arizona, New Mexico, Texas (USA); and Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Sonora, and Zacatecas (Mexico).[1] Common names include Arizona queen of the night, nightblooming cereus and Reina de la noche. The species name greggii honors Josiah Gregg (1806 – 1850), a merchant, explorer, naturalist, and author of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico.

Description
Peniocereus greggii with fruit in Sahuarita, Arizona.

This cactus has stems about 1/2-1 inch wide with 6-9 edges. Its flowers are white, up to 30 centimetres in diameter with a scent redolent of vanilla. The flowers open after sundown, closing and wasting after a few hours. By 9 am the next day they are gone. They usually bloom one night a year in June or July. In any given area, they all bloom at the same time. They look dead during the rest of the year. They have a large tuber that tastes a bit like a potato. They tend to be ubiquitous throughout the higher Sonoran Desert area around Tucson. See "A Natural History of the Sonoran Desert" published by the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, pg 197.

Tohono Chul in Tucson, Arizona [2] has the largest private collection of Sonoran Desert native Night-blooming Cereus - Peniocereus greggii. Each summer this botanical garden/museum hosts "Bloom Night," the one night each summer it is predicted the greatest number of cereus flowers will be in bloom, opening from 6pm until midnight to allow guests to stroll the grounds and view the flowers.[3]
See also

Nightblooming cereus - for others, and especially Selenicereus grandiflorus
List of edible cacti

References

Flora of North America - Peniocereus greggii
"Tohono Chul | Botanical Gardens & Galleries | Tucson AZ".
"Bloom Night - Tohono Chul - Tucson, AZ".