Selenicereus

Selenicereus grandiflorus

Selenicereus triangularis

Taxonavigation

Taxonavigation: Caryophyllales
Classification System: APG IV Superregnum: Eukaryota Regnum: Plantae Cladus: Angiosperms Cladus: Eudicots Cladus: Core eudicots Ordo: Caryophyllales

Familia: Cactaceae
Subfamilia: Cactoideae
Tribus: Hylocereeae
Genus: Selenicereus
Sectiones: S. sect. Cryptocereus – S. sect. Selenicereus
Accepted Species: S. alliodorus – S. anthonyanus – S. atropilosus – S. calcaratus – S. costaricensis – S. dorschianus – S. escuintlensis – S. extensus – S. glaber – S. grandiflorus – S. guatemalensis – S. hamatus – S. inermis – S. megalanthus – S. minutiflorus – S. monacanthus – S. murrillii – S. nelsonii – S. ocamponis – S. plumieri – S. pteranthus – S. purpusii – S. setaceus – S. spinulosus – S. stenopterus – S. tonduzii – S. triangularis – S. tricae – S. undatus – S. vagans – S. validus
Disputed Species: S. brevispinus – S. wercklei

Name

Selenicereus (A.Berger) Britton & Rose, Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 12: 429 (1909) emend. Korotkova et al. (2017)

• Type species: Selenicereus grandiflorus (L.) Britton & Rose, Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 12: 429 (1909).
  

Note: The two remaining disputed species are where CACO (2025), based upon Korotkova et al., (2017), differ from POWO (2025).

Synonyms

• Basionym
  • Cereus subsect. Selenicereus A.Berger, Rep. (Annual) Missouri Bot. Gard. 16: 76 (1905).
• Homotypic
  • Cereus [infragen.unranked] Triangulares K.Schum., Gesamtb. Kakt. 56 (1897).
  • Cereus subg. Hylocereus A.Berger, Rep. (Annual) Missouri Bot. Gard. 16: 72 (1905) syn. sec. Korotkova & al. 2017
    • Hylocereus (A.Berger) Britton & Rose Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 12: 428 (1909) syn. sec. Korotkova & al. 2017
    • Hylocereus sect. Hylocereus autonym
      • Type: Hylocereus triangularis (L.) Britton & Rose
        
    • Note: Now includes the horticulturally popular Hylocereus a range of attractive night flowering cacti and the Dragon Fruits.
  • Cereus subg. Selenicereus (A.Berger) A.Berger, Kakteen: 6: 110 (1929).
• Heterotypic
  • Cereus [infragen.unranked] Extensi Salm-Dyck, Hort. Dyck. 65, 339 (1834).
    • Type: Cereus extensus Salm-Dyck ex DC.
  • Cereus [infragen.unranked] Serpentes Pfeiff. ex Lem., Cact. Gen. Sp. Nov. 59, 77 (1839), p.p.
    • Type species: non design.
  • Cereus [infragen.unranked] Radicantes Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1841: 31 (1841).
    • Cereus sect. Radicantes (Salm-Dyck) Walp., Rep. Bot. Syst. 2: 278 (1843), p.p.
      • Type species: non design.
  • Cereus [infragen.unranked] Divaricati Salm-Dyck, Cact. Hort. Dyck. 1841: 32 (1841).
    • Type species: non design.
  • Cereaster F.Berge, Buch Welt: 90 (1842).
  • Cladoblasia M.Ocampo, Periód. Soc. Filoiátrica México 1: 70 (1844).
  • Cereus [infragen.unranked] Rostrati K.Schum. in Engl. & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. 3(6a): 179 (1894).
    • Type species: Cereus rostratus Lem.
  • Cereus [infragen.unranked] Principales K.Schum., Gesamtb. Kakt. (1): 55 (Feb) (1897).
    • Type species: non design.
  • Werckleocereus Britton & Rose, Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 12: 432 (1909) syn. sec. Korotkova & al. 2017
    • Type: Werckleocereus tonduzii (F.A.C.Weber) Britton & Rose
  • Mediocactus Britton & Rose pro parte, excl. the type, Cactaceae 2: 210 (1920) syn. sec. Korotkova & al. 2017
    • Cereus subg. Mediocactus (Britton & Rose) A.Berger, Kakteen 6: 118 (1929).
    • Type: Mediocactus coccineus (DC.) Britton & Rose
  • Wilmattea Britton & Rose, Cactaceae 2: 195 (1920) syn. sec. Korotkova & al. 2017
    • Type: Wilmattea minutiflora (Britton & Rose) Britton & Rose
  • Cereus [infragen.gruppe] Testudines Vaupel in Engl. & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. 21: 640, 642 (1925).
  • Mediocereus Frič & Kreuz., Verzeichnis Amer. Sukk. Revision Syst. Kakteen 19 (1935), nom. superfl.
  • Cryptocereus Alexander, Cact. Succ. J. Los Angeles 22: 164 (1950).
    • Type: Cryptocereus anthonyanus Alexander
  • Selenicereus sect. Salm-dyckia D.R.Hunt, Bradleya 7: 91 (1989).
    • Hylocereus sect. Salm-dyckia (D.R.Hunt) D.R.Hunt, Cactaceae Syst. Init. 21: 12 (2006).
      • Type: Hylocereus setaceus (Salm-Dyck ex DC.) Ralf Bauer
  • Chiapasophyllum Doweld, Tsukkulenty 4: 43 (2001 publ. 2002).

Distribution

Native distribution areas:

Continental: Europe (introduced) Regional: Southwestern Europe Baleares, Sardegna. Regional: Southeastern Europe Sicilia. Continental: Africa (introduced) Regional: Northern Africa Tunisia. Regional: Macaronesia Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Madeira. Regional: Southern Africa Cape Provinces, KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Provinces. Regional: Middle Atlantic Ocean St.Helena. Regional: Western Indian Ocean Comoros, Mauritius, Réunion. Continental: Asia-Temperate (introduced) Regional: China Hainan, China Southeast. Regional: Eastern Asia Taiwan. Continental: Asia-Tropical (introduced) Regional: Indian Subcontinent Bangladesh. Regional: Indo-China Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam. Continental: Pacific (introduced) Regional: Southwestern Pacific Niue, New Caledonia, Vanuatu. Regional: North-Central Pacific Hawaii. Continental: Northern America Regional: South-Central U.S.A. Texas. Regional: Southeastern U.S.A. Florida (introduced). Regional: Mexico Mexico Central, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southwest, Mexico Southeast. Continental: Southern America Regional: Central America Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama. Regional: Caribbean Bahamas, Bermuda (introduced), Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Islands. Regional: Northern South America French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela. Regional: Western South America Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Galápagos (introduced), Peru. Regional: Brazil Brazil West-Central, Brazil Northeast, Brazil Southeast, Brazil North, Brazil South. Regional: Southern South America Argentina Northeast, Paraguay. 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 12: 429.

Additional references

• Hunt, D. 2016. CITES Cactaceae Checklist, ed. 3: 1–174. PDF. Reference page. 
• Gutiérrez-Rodríguez, B.E., Guevara, R., Angulo, D.F., Ruiz-Domínguez, C. & Sosa, V. 2022. Ecological niches, endemism and conservation of the species in Selenicereus (Hylocereeae, Cactaceae). Brazilian Journal of Botany 45(3): 1149–1160. DOI: 10.1007/s40415-022-00818-z ResearchGate Reference page. 
• Korotkova, N., Borsch, T. & Arias, S., 2017. A phylogenetic framework for the Hylocereeae (Cactaceae) and implications for the circumscription of the genera. Phytotaxa 327(1): 1–46. DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.327.1.1 ResearchGate Reference page. 
• 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 Reference page. 

Links

• Govaerts, R. et al. 2025. Selenicereus in Kew Science Plants of the World Online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2025 June 13. Reference page. 
• International Plant Names Index. 2025. Selenicereus. Published online. Accessed: June 13 2025. Reference page.
• Korotkova, N. et al. 2025. Selenicereus in Cactaceae at Caryophyllales.org. A global synthesis of species diversity in the angiosperm order Caryophyllales. Published online. Accessed: 2025 June 13. Reference page. 
• Tropicos.org 2025. Selenicereus. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 13 June 2025. Reference page.
• Hassler, M. 2025. Selenicereus. 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. 2025. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2025 June 13. Reference page. 
• WFO Plant List 2025. Selenicereus. Published online. Accessed: 13 June 2025.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. 2025. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset. Taxon: Selenicereus. Accessed: 2025 January 06.
• Selenicereus – Taxon details on Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).

Vernacular names

• مصرى: شمعيه قمريه
• العربية: شمعية قمرية
• English: Moonlight Cacti
• español: Cactus de la luna llena
• eesti: Kuukaktus
• فارسی: سلنیسرئوس
• suomi: Yökaktukset
• français: Cierge de Sélène
• 한국어: 달빛선인장속
• lietuvių: Naktenis
• മലയാളം: നിശാപുഷ്പങ്ങൾ
• norsk bokmål: Nattkaktus
• русский: Царица ночи (Принцесса ночи)
• svenska: Nattkaktussläktet
• українська: Селеніцереус
• 中文: 蛇鞭柱属

For more multimedia, look at Selenicereus on Wikimedia Commons.