Sweet potato cactus, Night-blooming cereus
Peniocereus greggii

Family: Cactaceae

What it is like

A cactus. It has slender shoots up to 3 m long. It spreads 50 cm wide. The shoots tend to become woody. They have large turnip like roots. These can be 60 cm across and weigh 60 kg. Flowers open at night. They are white. They are 15-20 cm across. The fruit are red oval seed pods. They are edible.

There are 10-18 Peniocereus species.

Where it is found

It is a warm temperate to subtropical plant. It suits hardiness zones 8-11.

Countries/locations it is found in

Australia, Mexico, North America, USA

How it is used for food

The root or tuber is baked, peeled and eaten. They are dipped in batter and made into fritters. The tubers can be cut into small strips, soaked in cold water for 30 minutes then drained and dried and deep fried. The fruit are eaten raw, cooked or made into jam. The stalks are eaten as greens.

Edible parts

Fruit, root, stalks

How it is grown

Plants can be grown from seed or from cuttings dried out for a week or two.

Its other names

Local names

Arizona Queen of the night, Deer-horn cactus, Reina de la noche, Saramatraca

Synonyms

Cereus greggii Engelm.; Cereus greggii var. transmontanus Engelmann; Peniocereus greggii var. transmontanus (Engel.) Beckeberg;