page_title: Epiphyllum oxypetalum
section_title: Flower and fruit
hierarchical_section_title: Epiphyllum oxypetalum / Description / Flower and fruit
caption_attribution_description: English: Epiphyllum oxypetalum Leaf Slide (Cross Section) under a microscope 10x
context_page_description: Epiphyllum oxypetalum is a species of cactus and one of the most cultivated species in its genus. E. oxypetalum rarely blooms and only at night, and its flowers wilt before dawn. Though it is sometimes referred to as a night-blooming cereus, it is not closely related to any of the species in the tribe Cereeae, such as Selenicereus, that are more commonly known as nightblooming cereus. All Cereus species bloom at night and are terrestrial plants; Epiphyllum species are usually epiphytic.
context_section_description: Flowers grow on flattened stems and are up through 30 cm long and 17 cm wide, nocturnal, and very fragrant. The principal odor component in the aroma is benzyl salicylate. Pericarpels are nude, slightly angled, and green. Bracteoles are short and narrow up through ca. 10 millimetres (1.0 cm) long. Receptacles are up through 20 cm long, 1 cm thick, brownish, and arching.  Outer tepals are linear, acute, 8–10 cm long, and reddish through amber.  Inner tepals are whitish, oblanceolate through oblong, acuminate, up through 8–10 cm long and 2.5 centimetres (25 mm) wide. Stamens are greenish white or white, slender and weak.  Styles are greenish white, pale yellow, or white, 4 mm thick, as long as inner tepals, and with many lobes.
  Fruit are oblong, up through 12 x 8 cm, purplish red, and angled.
caption: Cross section of an Epiphyllum oxypetalum stem under a microscope.
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