Night Blooming Plants

Cactus - Originated from Antilles, Mexico and Central America

www.kakteensammlung-holzheu.de

Kingdom    :  Plantae
Order         : Caryophyllales
Family       : Cactaceae
Subfamily : Cactoideae
Tribe          : Hylocereeae
Genus        : Selenicereus
Species : grandiflorus

The prefix "Seleni" in the botanical name refers to the moon, in allusion to the nocturnal blooms, which are very large and full bodied.

Common Name
English : Queen of night, Lunar flower
Tamil / Telugu : Brahma Kamalam

Plant Description:

Night blooming cereus is a climbing cactus with vining, cylindrical stems. Selenicereus grandiflorus is usually a “functional epiphyte”; meaning the plant can thrive either as an epiphyte or a terrestrial plant. An epiphyte is a plant that grows on another plant for mechanical structure but not for nutrients. The stems send out adventitious (refers to structures that develop in an unusual place) roots to clasp their support plants. 

Selenicereus Grandiflorus has digitalis-like effects; it boosts the heart and opens the blood vessels. It also stimulates the movement-governing nerves in the spinal cord, and may have an anti-inflammatory effect on the skin.
 

Care

1. The night blooming cereus needs to establish its roots before it can bloom. Frequent repotting makes this difficult, so try not to do it unless it's completely necessary.
2. Over watering your cereus can rot the roots and kill your plant before you have chance to see the flowers bloom.
3. Avoid fertilizing the cereus during fall and winter. The plant is more likely to bloom if its had a period of dormancy before the spring.

Orchid - Grows in New Britain

Bulbophyllum nocturnum

Kingdom  :  Plantae
Order       :  Asparagales
Family      : Orchidaceae
Subfamily : Cactoideae
Genus       :  Bulbophyllum
Species : nocturnum

Bulbophyllum nocturnum, which is the world's first known night-flowering orchid, which has been discovered near Papua New Guinea. Photograph: André Schuiteman/PA

The only orchid among the 25,000 species which only flowers at night was discovered on New Britain Island, Papua New Guinea.
The small night-flowering orchid has yellow-green sepals that unfurl to reveal tiny petals adorned with dangling, grayish, thick and thin appendages. The flower, which is 2cm wide, has no noticeable smell, though some nocturnal species can time the release of their scents to attract nighttime pollinating insects.
It was reported in Gaurdian News Paper
 

Cestrum nocturnum - Native to  the West Indies

 Classification
Kingdom :  Plantae
Order      :  Solanales
Family     :  Solanaceae
Genus     :  Cestrum
Species   : nocturnum
Common Names

English : Night blooming Jasmine

Tamil : Nalliravu Nayagi

 

Plant description

 

It is an evergreen woody shrub growing to 4 metres (13 ft) tall. The leaves are simple, narrow lanceolate, 6–20 cm (2–8 in) long and 2–4.5 cm broad, smooth and glossy, with an entire margin. The flowers are greenish-white, with a slender tubular corolla 2-2.5 cm (1 in) long with five acute lobes, 10–13 mm diameter when open at night, and are produced in cymose inflorescences. A powerful, sweet perfume is released at night. 

Oroxylum indicum - Native to Indian Subcontinent

	Classification Kingdom :  Plantae Order      :   Lamiales Family     :  Bignoniaceae Genus     :  Oroxylum Species   : indicum Common Names English : Indian Trumpet, Midnight horror, Broken bones plant Tamil : puta-puspam (பூதபுஷ்பம்)
	Plant description
	It is a tree which can reach a height of 12 m (40 ft). The large leaf stalks wither and fall off the tree and collect near the base of the trunk, appearing to look like a pile of broken limb bones. The tree is a night-bloomer and flowers are adapted to natural pollination by bats. They form enormous seed pods that hang down from bare branches. Those long fruits curve downward and resemble the wings of a large bird or dangling sickles or swords in the night. The seeds are round with papery wings