Martha's exotic Backyard in Israel
Selenicus grandifloras, Cereus grandiflorus, Selenicereus macdonaldiae,
Night-blooming cereus, Queen of the night, Deer-Horn Cactus,
מלכת הלילה

Scientific name:		Selenicus grandifloras (L.) Britton & Rose
Synonym name:		Cereus grandiflorus (L.) Mill., Selenicereus macdonaldiae (Hook.) Britton & Rose
Common name:		Night-blooming cereus, Queen of the night, Deer-Horn Cactus
Hebrew name:		מלכת הלילה
Family:		Cactaceae, צבריים או קקטוּסיים

Life form:		Climbing multibranched perennial cactus
Stems:		Scandent, elongated, to 10 m long, 2-2.5cm in diameter, ribbed or angled, weak, studded with sparse spines, branching occasionally; producing aerial roots
Leaves:		No leaves
Inflorescence:		Terminal and lateral flowers up to 30cm in diameter come out from the clusters of spines; flowers bloom for only one night
Flowers:		Thin yellow sepals, white petals waxy, trumpet-shaped flowers
Fruits / pods:		ovoid, 5–8 cm long, whitish, partly pink, pink, yellow or orange, covered with clusters of spines and hairs which soon drop off
Origin:		Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts of southern Arizona, east to western Texas and south to northern Mexico.

Derivation of the botanical name: Selenicus, Greek Σελήνη, Selene, the Greek goddess of the moon, since their flowers open at night. Selenicereus, Greek Σελήνη, Selene, the Greek goddess of the moon, cereus(Latin), "waxy", a night-blooming cereus. grandifloras, large-flowered. Cereus, waxen, waxy. macdonaldiae , after Captain James Monroe McDonald (1825-1907), pioneer capitalist and philanthropist. The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy. The standard author abbreviation Britton is used to indicate Nathaniel Lord Britton (1859 – 1934), an American botanist and taxonomist. The standard author abbreviation Rose is used to indicate Joseph Nelson Rose (1862 – 1928), an American botanist. The standard author abbreviation Mill. is used to indicate Philip Miller (1691 – 1771), a Scottish botanist. The standard author abbreviation Hook. is used to indicate William Jackson Hooker (1785 – 1865), an English systematic botanist and organiser, and botanical illustrator.