The Collaborative International Dictionary
Night-blooming \Night"-bloom`ing\, a. Blooming in the night.
Night-blooming cereus. (Bot.) See Note under Cereus.
Cereus \Ce"re*us\, n. [L., a wax candle, fr. cera wax. So named from the resemblance of one species to the columnar shape of a wax candle.] (Bot.) A genus of plants of the Cactus family. They are natives of America, from California to Chili.
Note: Although several species flower in the night, the name Night-blooming cereus is specially applied to the Cereus grandiflorus, which is cultivated for its beautiful, shortlived flowers. The Cereus giganteus, whose columnar trunk is sometimes sixty feet in height, is a striking feature of the scenery of New Mexico, Texas, etc.
WordNet
n. any of several night-blooming cacti of the genus Selenicereus
any of several cacti of the genus Hylocereus
any of several cacti of the genus Cereus
Wikipedia
Night-blooming cereus is the common name referring to a large number of flowering ceroid cacti that bloom at night. The flowers are short lived, and some of these species, such as Selenicereus grandiflorus, bloom only once a year, for a single night. Other names for one or more cacti with this habit are princess of the night, Honolulu queen (for Hylocereus undatus), Christ in the Manger, Dama de Noche and queen of the night (which is also used for an unrelated plant species).
Usage examples of "night-blooming cereus".
Of the Thirteen Houses, Night-Blooming Cereus is and has always been First.
Her mind posed a wordless question and Jack replied: Night-blooming cereus.
The mescal and the beer and the tequila and the thick musky fragrance of the night-blooming cereus washed through his soul and left it tranquil.
The warm wind caressing his cheek carried a delicate trace of the night-blooming cereus flowers from the shrubbery up near the highway.
As I was to learn, he was usually somnolent and lazy in the morning, but he revived, like a night-blooming cereus, as twilight approached, and by midnight he was going strong.
Mustn't ignore it very bad form like not going to see the night-blooming cereus at the Punahou School.