night-blooming cereus

American

[nahyt-bloo-ming] / ˈnaɪtˌblu mɪŋ /

noun

any of various cacti of the genera Hylocereus, Peniocereus, Nyctocereus, or Selenicereus, having large, usually white flowers that open at night.

night-blooming cereus British

noun

any of several cacti of the genera Hylocereus, Selenicereus, etc, having large fragrant flowers that open at night

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of night-blooming cereus

First recorded in 1800–10

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

night-blooming cereus

In describing the importance of journey in his pieces, Turrell mentions a night-blooming cereus known as the Queen of the Night.

From New York Times ● May 9, 2013

Our night-blooming cereus is good enough for me.''

From Time Magazine Archive

This shot of a man taking a picture of a night-blooming cereus in Arizona.

From Time Magazine Archive

Some of the most common species in cultivation are the phyllocactus species, often called the night-blooming cereus.

From Manual of Gardening (Second Edition) by L. H. (Liberty Hyde) Bailey

"Also no satisfaction like the minute when the idea comes, like the night-blooming cereus, in the dark."

From Cinderella Jane by Marjorie Benton Cooke

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023