Cactaceae

Vine-like moonlight cactus

Selenicereus spinulosus (DC.) Britton & Rose

Family: Cactaceae
Genus: Selenicereus

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Vine-like moonlight cactus (Selenicereus spinulosus) — FlowerPhoto: Cat, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist

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Common names

By language (3)

Chinese: 小棘蛇鞭柱
English: Vine-like moonlight cactus, Vinelike moonlight cactus, Nightblooming cereus, Pitayita-nocturna espinosa
Swedish: Småtaggig nattkaktus

Synonyms

Cereus pseudospinulosus Weing.
Cereus spinulosus DC.
Mediocactus spinulosus (DC.) Doweld
Selenicereus pseudospinulosus Weing.

Flowers

In flower: April (from 68 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)

Characteristics

Growth habit: Shrub
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Lower 48 states: native

Photos

FlowerPhoto: Cat, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Liliana Ramírez-Freire, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Raúl Ernestoo, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: José Gerardo Velasco, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist
LeavesPhoto: Rodolfo Salinas Villarreal, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FruitPhoto: Francisco Martínez González, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Reid Hardin, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Adriana Nelly Correa Sandoval, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Adriana Nelly Correa Sandoval, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Masked Lynx, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Adriana Nelly Correa Sandoval, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Reid Hardin, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist

More in Selenicereus

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.