Interesting facts

The scientific name of our cactus is derived from the Greek selene = moon and the Latin cereus = wax taper, plus grandiflorus = large-flowered. Wax taper refers to the growth pattern of the stems, sections of which are perfectly straight, and also to their combustibility. American Indians dried them, dipped them in oil and used them as torches.
The indigenous peoples of America knew the night-blooming cereus as a topical remedy for rheumatism and itchy rashes and an internal remedy for worms, cystitis and fever. Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) brought this curative plant back to Europe from his voyages of discovery to Central America, and in 1586 the French physician and botanist Jacques Daléchamps (1523-1588) described it in his Historia Generalis Plantarum.
In Europe knowledge of the night-blooming cereus as a medicinal plant became more widespread from 1864 onwards, after Rocco Rubini (1805-1886), Italian physician and medical director of the homeopathic hospital Santa Maria della Cesarea near Naples, published the results of his research into the queen of the night in the British Journal of Homeopathy1. He discovered that a tincture obtained from the cactus had an antispasmodic effect on the coronary arteries and improved blood supply to the heart.
In the 20th century the commercial interest in these properties was so great that the night-blooming cereus was at significant risk of being over-harvested. Fortunately, the Washington Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora of 3 March 1973 regulated trade with plants growing in the wild.
Because of its impressive, fragrant flowers, popular belief held that a broth of boiled queen of the night flowers would lend a woman a rich sensuality for one night.
The cactus societies of Austria, Germany and Switzerland declared the night-blooming cereus Cactus of the Year 2009.