OMG it's about to pop

[tudedude]

yesterday



ealier this evening

[oldcat61]

So what is it? Not the prettiest plant - some kind of Selenicereus? Sue

[tudedude]

Yes some type of Selenicereus. Not exactly sure which one. Its an old grafting stock with empty nest syndrome.

[tudedude]

[Kamos]

What an amazing bloom! Really beautiful !

[bruno]

very nice, is it fragrant?

[Tiggy]

WOW!!! That is gorgeous! Who would ever have thought that a plant like that would have such a flower.

Susi

[tudedude]

very nice, is it fragrant?

I didn't notice any fragrance, I forgot to take a sniff. But it must have something to allure the night creatures to it.

[oldcat61]

Can I assume what I have is Selenicereus grandiflorus? Sue

[Eutow_Intermedium]

I can't understand why a Selenicereus would even flower at that small size ! ?

Are you sure it's a Selenicereus at all .

Probably best to put it in the Cacti Identification board.

[CactusFanDan]

I can't understand why a Selenicereus would even flower at that small size ! ?

Are you sure it's a Selenicereus at all .

Probably best to put it in the Cacti Identification board.

Hormonal effects due to losing the scion could induce flowering, as could stress or many other factors. It's definitely a Selenicereus, you could see those distinctive flowers a mile off.

[Eutow_Intermedium]

Velly good sir !

[DaveW]

Yes Eutow they can flower that small and it's certainly a Selenicereus, though probably flowering as a result of stress rather than growing much. Mine goes all the way up into the greenhouse roof and did not flower until it was many feet long, and it is rooted in the greenhouse bed:-

selenicereus.jpg (97.8 KiB) Viewed 2242 times

However I gave a bit of it to somebody who lived on the Costa del Sol in Spain who grew it in a hanging basket and it looked just as small and "beaten up" as that plant in the pot and it also flowered for them.

As they say a "near death experience" encourages many plants to try and pass on their genes to the next generation by flowering and trying to set seed.

My plant also originally came as S. grandiflorus, but when it flowered I identified it as S. spinulosus from Britton & Rose's key for Selenicereus, seemingly not a very apt name for a plant with tiny spines, but they do feel sharp if you try and run your hand along the stems, and botanical names are only convenient "handles", they are not required to be appropriate as this quote says:-

"Selenicereus spinulosus is a cactus species native to eastern Mexico and, possibly, the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the United States. Common names include Spiny Moon Cereus and Vine-like Moonlight Cactus. Its specific name, spinulosus, means "spiny" in Latin and is unusual for a plant with relatively short spines.

What is Selenicereus grandiflorus anyway Sue? So many other species have now been lumped into it with much smaller flowers that having the largest Selenicereus flower now no longer seems to be diagnostic.

If you Google "Images" for Selenicereus grandiflorus you will get many other Selenicereus posing as it, since people dub virtually all Selenicereus as grandiflorus since their flowers are fairly large for the size of the stems. However how many of these imposters flowers are 35cm across (nearly 14 inches) the size of the one in the link below against that mans arm? I would think the flowers on my S. spinulosus were only half that diameter in spite of the fact it went around mislabelled as S. grandiflorus! Obviously how well the plant is growing and how many flowers are produced on the plant at once will reduce the size of individual flowers, since a single bloom on a healthy plant will often be much larger than if a plant covered with many flowers.

http://www.gardens.co.nz/PlantoftheWeek.cfm?NLID=138" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[oldcat61]

Part of the identity problem is all the photos show the flower & only a fuzzy short piece of the stems. Or the habitat shots are scrambling up a tree. Would like to find a photo in a GH, in a pot. As you say Dave, all the flowers are so similar - I would think the stems/growing habit would be the defining factor. Guess I've hijacked this thread. Sue

[DaveW]

I will see if I can find the Britton & Rose key to Selenicereus species Sue and copy it here.