Queen of the Night profile

The Queen of the Night grows at an altitude of 1000-1200 meters.Prefer warm and humid semi-overcast, warm and humid environment, frost resistant, avoid strong light exposure.The Queen of the Night enjoys the reputation of being the belle of the moon.When the flower gradually spread out, after 1-2 hours and slowly withered, the whole process only lasts 4 hours or so.Therefore, there is a flash in the pan.Widely cultivated in all parts of the world, it is commonly cultivated in all provinces and regions of China.

Queen of the Night picture

Morphological characteristics of the Queen of the Night

Queen of the Night is a succulent epiphytic shrub, 2~6 meters high, with a cylindric, lignified old stem.Most branches, leaf CeBian, lanceolate to oblong-elliptic lanceolate, 15-100 cm long, 5 ~ 12 cm wide, apex long acuminate to acute, or rounded, margin wavy or deeply crenate, base acute, short acuminate or gradually narrow handle shape, dark green, glabrous, rib in the bulky, 2 ~ 6 mm wide, from two sides ridges, old branch plant produces adventitious roots;The nests are arranged in the depressions between teeth, small shape, without thorns, with a few woolly hairs at the beginning, and then bare. 

Flowers are solitary nests, funnel-shaped, open at night, fragrant, 25~30 cm long, 10~12 cm in diameter; The receptacle is green, slightly angular, triangulated with short scales, 13~18 cm long, base 4~9 mm in diameter, more or less curved, sparsely grown 3~10 mm lanceolate scales, scales axillary nests usually glabrous;Calyx-shaped perianth is greenish white, light amber or reddish, linear to oblanceolate, 8 -- 10 cm long, 3 -- 4 mm wide, apex acuminate, margin entire, usually inversely curved;Testaminate white, obovate-lanceolate to obovate, 7 -- 10 cm long, 3 -- 4.5 cm wide, apex acute to orbicular, sometimes awned, margin entire or gnawed;Stamens are numerous, arranged in two rows;Filaments are white, 2.5~5 cm long;Anthers are pale yellow, 3~3.5 mm long; The style white, 20~22 cm long, 3~4 mm in diameter; Queen of the Night has 15-20 stigma, narrowly linear, 16~18 mm long, apex long acuminate, spreading, yellow-white. 

Berries are long globose, longitudinally ridged, glabrous, purplish red.Seeds numerous, ovate-renal, light black, wrinkled, glabrous. 

The Queen of the Night growth environment

The Queen of the Night grows at an altitude of 1000~1200 meters.Type specimens were collected in Mexico.The Queen of the Night is native to tropical deserts from Mexico to Brazil.The climate there is dry and hot, but it gets cooler at night.Flower at night, can avoid the strong sun exposure;Shortening flowering time can greatly reduce the loss of water, which is conducive to its survival.To keep it alive.Thus, epiphyllum in a short time at night the characteristics of flowering gradually formed, handed down from generation to generation. 

The Queen of the Night distribution range

Queen of the Night is native to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Suriname and Costa Rica. It is widely cultivated in various regions of the world.It is commonly cultivated in all provinces and regions of China. According to the specimen collection records in 1936, Queen of the Night was born in Southern Yunnan (Jinghong, Great Raptor). 

Queen of the Night habit of growth

The Queen of the Night prefers a warm and humid semi-shade, warm and humid environment. It is not resistant to frost and avoid exposure to strong light.In particular, the temperature requirement is higher than the place of origin, which is 15~25℃, the night temperature in spring and summer is 16~18℃, and the daytime is 21~24℃.Overwintering temperature in 10~12℃, soil should not be too dry. The Queen of the Night can withstand 5℃ or so low temperature in winter. Soil requirements should be rich in humus, drainage performance is good, loose and fertile slightly acidic sandy soil, otherwise easy to rent.

The Queen of the Night reproduction methods

cuttings

1.Cutting propagation in 3~5 months to select robust, thick leafy stems as cuttings, length of 20 cm ~30 cm, 2~3 sections of a section cut, and the base of the cut into a clean sand bed after slightly dry, moisture content in the soil to maintain about 60%, room temperature to maintain 18 C~24 C, after about 3 weeks of rooting, when the root length of 3 cm ~4 cm on the basin.If use advocate stem cutting, in those days can see flower, need 2~3 years to just blossom with lateral stem. 

The selection of the cutting blade, hair bands, earlier is better to choose more than 2 years old leaves, it is best that veins not obvious, growing point closed blade (this is important), blade can't chosen is too small, cuttings, buried in the soil of parts, the wound can get larger, on the base of the leaf, and carved a few cut, increasing the cutting surface, prompting more hair root, forming organization.

The Angle when cutting, want to send pole early, improve the probability, cutting can be shallowly inserted, oblique inserted.Try not to get too deep in it as much as possible.Shallow insertion, oblique insertion, with the notch wound on the vein, because the shallow insertion, the soil temperature is higher, feel more moisture, it is easier to heal the wound and grow roots and fleshy tissue, easy to pull out the rod.

Rationally use root powder, the conditions can be before cutting immersion branches, or in the cutting process with root powder and water watering. The effect is still very, fast roots, strong roots, and it is easy to form tissue.

Said earlier, multi-purpose cutting the old leaves, growing point of the closed best, clear though is the cutting of older leaves, leaf is not available to take a new growing point. Under this kind of circumstance, there is no point on the blade, root system and gradually developed

2. Cutting time in May to June is the most suitable, greenhouse conditions can be carried out all year round. Cuttings choose two years old slightly leafy branches, to grow robust, hypertrophy is good, too tender branches inserted after perishable or atrophy, should not be chosen. Cut the cuttings from the mother branch, cut a section of 10~15 cm with a sharp knife, and put them in a cool and ventilated place for half a day to a day. When the cuttings are dried into a thin film, cuttings can be made. 

Cuttage uses soil with garden soil 7 parts add such as bran ash 3 parts mix after use, use plain sand soil also can, basically should drain unimpeded, loose, facilitate hair root. The soil should be first exposed to strong sunlight, in order to prevent the occurrence of moss or mold caused by decomposition. Sand bed or in the basin cuttage can, the basin had better use drop basin (tower basin). Put the broken tiles on the bottom of the basin, and then put the culture soil to the eighth full of the basin. The cutting depth should be about 1/3 of the skewers. Cuttings, the base slightly pressed, and then put in the indoor shade, no longer more mobile. 

If placed Queen of the Night in a greenhouse, do not allow direct sunlight, so as not to make the rod wither, affect root germination.Cuttings must be watered, watered to straighten the crooked branches.If the temperature is high enough to cause wilting, use a fine sprayer to spray water.Soil can be slightly damp.Cuttage seedlings about 20~30 days that the growth of roots.

sow

Queen of the Night sowing reproduction is often used in crossbreeding. It takes 4 to 5 years from sowing to flowering.

Queen of the Night main value

The Queen of the Night ornamental value

Queen of the Night is a famous ornamental flower. During the summer and autumn seasons, Queen of the Night blossoms in the starry Night, showing the beauty of beauty. When people are still asleep, the quiet and fragrant Queen of the Night has closed and withered away, so it is known as a flash in the pan.It's wonderful flowering habit often wins the keen interest of flower lovers. 

The Queen of the Night has medicinal value

The Queen of the Night has the effect of removing poison and relieving heat and asthma. It is mainly used for treating colonic fever, constipation, hematochezia, sores, pneumonia, blood filaments in phlegm, asthma and other diseases.Flowers have a strong effect, and treatment of high blood pressure and blood fat. 

The Queen of the Night ecological value

Put a few green plants in the home, can let everyday absorb healthy fresh air not only, beneficial health beautifies an environment.

1. Green plants generally absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen through photosynthesis during the day. At night they become like the human body, taking in oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide.However, Queen of the Night is on the contrary. It is a common plant with CAM metabolism. It releases oxygen in the daytime for light reaction only, and absorbs carbon dioxide for dark reaction in the evening when the ambient air temperature drops to an appropriate temperature.So Queen of the Night can improve the bedroom environment to a certain extent.

2.Queen of the Night can increase the negative ion content in the room. Although its flowering period is very short, when flowering beautiful noble, fragrance overflowing. It can release negative ions and make the air in the room fresh and pleasant. Anion can be said to be the vitamin of air, if the anion content inside the bedroom decreases, people can feel suffocation and suffocation.Therefore, the negative ion concentration in the air can increase epiphyllum, is indeed a rare beautiful and beneficial flower.

3. The smell of Queen of the Night has the ability to kill bacteria and bacteria, which makes the home environment full of healthy breath.