x
FloraFinder uses cookies only for correct operation. More info. Okay

 

Epiphyllum anguliger (Lemaire) D. Don 1855

Rickrack cactus, moon cactus, queen of the night, fishbone cactus, zig zag cactus

Moon cacti are native to central and southern Mexico. The common names “moon cactus” and “queen of the night” refer are because it blooms at night (though flowers may last into the next day). Rickrack cactus refers to the unusual leaflets.

Plants: Multiple stems are up to 3′ (1 m) long. Main stems are woody, usually rounded, with branching alternate flattened “leaflets.” These plants more closely resemble ferns than most cacti. They are epiphytes, growing atop other plants without harming them.

Flowers: 6–7 ⨉ 4–5″ (15–18 ⨉ 10–13 cm) in diameter, with an inner white or pale yellow flower and an outer orange-bronze sepals. They have a strong, sweet scent.

Fruits: 1–1½″ long ⨉ ¾″ in diameter (3–4 ⨉ 2 cm). They are ovoid and brownish, greenish, or yellowish. They resemble gooseberries. Inside, they look a bit like kiwi fruits, with green pulp and small black seeds.

Habitats: Evergreen forests, at elevations of 3609–5906′ (1.1–1.8 km).

Edibility: Fruit is edible.

Epiphyllum anguliger (rickrack cactus, moon cactus, queen of the night, fishbone cactus, zig zag cactus)

From Paxton’s Flower Garden, volume 1, plate 34, by John Lindley and Joseph Paxton, drawing by L. A. L. Constans, 1853.

References:

Anderson, Edward F., The Cactus Family, Timber Press, 2001, p. 287

Online References:

CactiGuide.com

FredMiranda.com (great photos!)

YouTube (a video of the flowers)

Garden.org

Phyllocactus anguliger Lemaire 1851
Phyllocactus darrahii K. Schumann 1903
Epiphyllum darrahii (K. Schumann) Britton & Rose 1913

 

Epiphyllum anguliger (rickrack cactus, moon cactus, queen of the night, fishbone cactus, zig zag cactus)

4/6/2011 · Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Mary­land · ≈ 1 × 1½′ (34 × 52 cm)

Epiphyllum anguliger (rickrack cactus, moon cactus, queen of the night, fishbone cactus, zig zag cactus)

4/6/2011 · Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Mary­land · ≈ 1 × 1½′ (34 × 52 cm)

Epiphyllum anguliger (rickrack cactus, moon cactus, queen of the night, fishbone cactus, zig zag cactus)

4/6/2011 · Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Mary­land · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 20 cm)

KingdomPlantaePlants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
SubkingdomTracheobiontaVascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
DivisionMagnoliophytaFlowering plants, also known as angiosperms
ClassMagnoliopsidaDicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
SubclassCaryophyllidaeCacti, many other succulents, carnivorous plants, and leadworts
OrderCaryophyllalesIncludes cacti, carnations, amaranths, ice plants, and many carnivorous plants
FamilyCactaceaeSucculent (water-storing) plants, often spiny
GenusEpiphyllumFrom Greek ἐπί (epí), “upon””, and‎ φύλλο (phúllo), “leaf,” referring to its flowers borne on leaflike phylloclades
SpeciesanguligerFrom anguliger, “angle bearing,” for the deeply toothed stems

About plant names...

Range:

About this map...

Epiphyllum anguliger description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.