Selenicereus grandiflorus is a member of the cactus family and is a vigorous vining plant. For one night each year, its exquisitely scented flower opens as night falls, then closes forever with the first rays of the morning sun. The term "night blooming cereus" or "Queen of the Night" is often used for this night blooming cactus.
These plants
usually begins to set flower buds in June. It grows very quickly, splits off
into many separate vines, and continues on an upward path toward the top of the
trees or posts. For three hundred and sixty-four days, the vines have a snake-like appearance and is somewhat sinister. Then, when
it blooms, it takes your breath away.
Remember that this is a tropical plant. Avoid keeping out during freezing temperatures. It has thorns so handle it with extreme care. Although we ship only healthy, it is important to remember that they are not perfect (nor is any other living thing).
Use night-blooming cereus
cactus for health and you will discover why discerning herbalists use it
I want to tell you more about the medicinal benefits of Selenicereus
grandiflorus, the night-blooming cereus cactus.
Although it is also called
large-flowered cactus, sweet-scented cactus, queen of the night, and vanilla
cactus, it is most commonly known as night-blooming cereus cactus. The Latin
name also speaks to this: ‘seleni‘ means moon, ‘cereus’
means waxy, and “grandiflorus” means large-flowered. As I said, this is
a very common cactus. It likes to sprawl and branch and climb across rocks and
around trees and fences. The green succulent stems are jointed, fleshy,
columnar, a half to one inch or so across, scant to mildly covered in spines,
each joint of the stem being up to several inches in length. The flowers are
large, waxy, splendorously showy. They do not flower often, and when they do,
there may be as few as one. The flowers develop, unfurled, for quite a long
time, and they too, are quite impressive in appearance. Like the name says, the
flowers bloom at night, and it is a spectacular, one-night-only event. The
flower may open with a loud pop, and it emits a sublime, hypnotic aroma that
can bowl over a human, and which will hopefully attract a single pollinator
during that night, because by the next day the flower will have already wilted.
The fleshy stems of
night-blooming cereus cactus are the medicine, and if the cactus happens to be
in the immature flowering stage, even better, as the unfurled flower is also
medicinal. The taste of the fresh fleshy stem is sweet (sweet by an herbalist’s
standards, not by a sugarholic’s standards) and bitter; its texture is
mucilaginous; and its energetics are cooling and moistening to the organ
tissues and systems that it influences. The tissues and systems that
night-blooming cereus cactus most and best influence are the
heart-cardiovascular system and the nervous system. It also exerts good
influence on the lungs-respiratory system and the female reproductive cycle,
especially during menopausal and premenstrual times.
Cereus cactus is most renowned for its ability to strengthen heart muscle and action, and to alleviate heart pain. In my practice it is an essential and central ingredient – along with hawthorn and reishi — in formulas to strengthen a heart weakened by a cardiovascular event (MI, stroke), blockage of arteries, or from the strain from cardiac fever, over exertion, or chronic debilitation like tobacco heart. Its effects are noticeable and enduring. It is a superior antispasmodic, and has the ability to alleviate what people describe as the feeling of constricting bands of pain across their chests and hearts. I also use it with motherwort to help address arrhythmias and tachycardia, and in formulas to strengthen hearts weakened by Lyme Disease.
Its action on the nervous
system is as powerful and positive as it is on the heart, and in fact, it is
the very place where nervous system and heart action meet that cactus medicine
seems to have its greatest affinity. Its tonifying and restorative effect on
the nerves and central nervous system can be profound and enduring. I use it in
formulas to treat a wide array of concerns, including nervousness, anxiety,
panic, and especially gloom-and-doom depression. And I use it just as often as
a strengthening nerve tonic to treat nerve weakness and nervous system
fragility (neurasthenia), and also in protocols to help stroke victims recover
neurological function.
I also use cereus cactus frequently in formulas to address nervous system concerns that are connected to the menstrual cycle. It is observably beneficial in addressing menopausal anxiety-nervousness, panic attacks with hyperventilation, melancholy and black-cloud depression, thoughts plagued by doom and a fear of death; and also to address hot flashes, numbness and weakness of the limbs, or feelings of heavy tightness in the chest.
And I will use this night-blooming cereus cactus in lung-respiratory formulas when the symptomatic picture bears resemblance to symptoms mentioned in the cardiovascular and nervous system section: respiratory conditions like asthma or bronchitis where symptoms might include a tight-banded feeling in the chest and labored breathing; respiratory symptoms that accompany cardiovascular deficiency diseases like congestive heart failure and cardiac edema; or the rapid, shallow, panic-inducing breathing that might accompany a nervous condition.
As a preparation, cereus cactus
is best used as a fresh tincture. If you happen to be lucky enough to live
where it grows, you could juice it, although I am not sure what that dosage
would be. My experience is with the fresh tincture. I blend a one-to-two ratio
(by volume) of cactus to fluid. Because cactus is so succulent – approximately
90-95% water content – it is safest and best (I would say essential) to use the
highest-test alcohol available. That would be 95% alcohol concentration, or 190
proof. Cactus is fairly strong medicine, so the dosage does not need to be
high. It is never the largest ratio amount in a formula even though it may
sometimes be the most important herb in the mix. In formulas alongside hawthorn
and reishi for instance, cactus would be one quarter to one third the ratio amount
of these other herbs (example: for every 30 drops of hawthorn I would add 7-10
drops of cereus cactus). In small, tonic doses, cactus can be taken safely and
without side effects for long periods. If consumed in large quantities or at
too high and frequent a dose, it will produce the very symptoms it alleviates
when taken at the correct dose, inducing shallow breathing, nervous anxiety and
a tight feeling in the chest. So, if you are a general interest reader, don’t
do that. And if you are a discerning herbalist, then remember that when using
cactus, and you will enjoy it as an important medicine in your repertoire.
If you would like to grow
cacti indoors or have a greenhouse or sun room, a segment of fresh
night-blooming cereus cactus easily roots and grows.