What is the difference between the night-blooming cereus and the orchid cactus? This article teaches you how to tell them apart

The night-blooming cereus, also known as Qionghua, Tanhua, Guizaihua, Weituohua, and Beauty Under the Moon, is an epiphytic succulent shrub in the cactus family. The orchid cactus is a perennial evergreen epiphytic plant in the cactus family. Because its stems are flat and lanceolate, shaped like an arrow token, and its flowers resemble water lilies, it is called the orchid cactus. Let us take a look below at the differences between the night-blooming cereus and the orchid cactus!

Differences between the flowers of the night-blooming cereus and the orchid cactus

1. Night-blooming cereus: The flowers are extraordinarily gorgeous, white tinged slightly with milky white, and the tube is longer than the petals.

2. Orchid cactus: The flowers are brightly colored, mostly dark red and purple, with a few pink and yellow ones, and the tube is slightly shorter than the petals.

Differences between the leaves of the night-blooming cereus and the orchid cactus

1. Night-blooming cereus: The flower stalk grows from the notch on the edge of the flat branch; the flat branch is relatively wide, thin, and soft, with edges that are wavy and shallowly serrated.

2. Orchid cactus: The flower stalk grows from the notch on the edge of the flat branch; the flat branch is relatively narrow, thick, and hard, with edges that are roundly serrated.

Differences between the flowering periods of the night-blooming cereus and the orchid cactus

1. Night-blooming cereus: The flowering season is generally from June to October, and the blooming time is generally after 8 to 9 o'clock at night. The full bloom lasts only 5 to 10 minutes, very brief. When it opens, the flower tube slowly tilts up, slowly opening the purple outer covering, and then the large snow-white flower composed of more than 20 petals opens.

2. Orchid cactus: The flowering period is from April to June, blooming during the day and closing at night. A single flower blooms for only 1 to 2 days. The flower colors include purple-red, bright red, pink, carmine, yellow, white, blue-purple, and so on.

Differences between the origins of the night-blooming cereus and the orchid cactus

1. Night-blooming cereus: It is native to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Suriname, Costa Rica, and other places. It is now widely cultivated in various regions of the world, and is also commonly cultivated in various provinces and regions of China. In southern Yunnan it has become naturalized, growing at an altitude of 1000-1200 m.

2. Orchid cactus: It is native to the tropical regions of the Americas, with the most found in Mexico. In China it is mainly grown in pots, distributed in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Taiwan, China, Guizhou, Liaoning, and other places.