Species · genus Epiphyllum · Cactaceae

Climbing Cactus

Epiphyllum phyllanthus (L.) Haw.

Growth habit

succulent epiphyte

Native range

Argentina Northeast, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Cayman Is., Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela

Epiphyllum phyllanthus — reference photo — Nathaniel Lord Britton, Joseph Nelson Rose · Public domain

Cultivars of E. phyllanthus

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under E. phyllanthus yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

A wide-ranging epiphytic cactus

Epiphyllum phyllanthus is a succulent epiphyte in the cactus family, native across a broad swath of the Americas from Central Mexico down to northeastern Argentina. It grows perched on other plants rather than rooted in soil, favouring a seasonally dry tropical setting.

Source: Kew

From Mexico to Argentina

This species' native range stretches from Central Mexico through Colombia, the Amazon, and the Andes, all the way to the Guyanas and northeastern Argentina, with populations recorded at elevations up to about 1700 metres in Colombia. It is found across varied habitats there, including forest and woodland, savanna, shrubland, native grassland, and wetlands. A related species, Epiphyllum hookeri, occupies a somewhat more northern range, from north-central Mexico through Central America to Trinidad and northern Venezuela, and grows in a wetter tropical biome.

Source: Kew

Epiphyte habit and habitat

Its habit is that of a herbaceous epiphyte, a cactus that clings to other plants rather than growing terrestrially. In the wild it is recorded across a wide elevational band, from sea level up to roughly 1700 metres, spanning forest, savanna, shrubland, and even wetland margins.

Source: Kew

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 7-14d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 14 days

Humidity

Medium

Temperature

13–29 °C

Soil mix

Airy, fast-draining epiphyte mix

Propagation

Stem segment cuttings, callused then rooted

Fertilizing

Dilute cactus feed monthly while growing

Growth rate

Moderate

Flowering

Slender night-opening white flowers along stem margins

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Not yet documented

This is where toxicity lives — every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

Nathaniel Lord Britton, Joseph Nelson Rose · Public domain

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 7-14d) · ai:claude-fable-5

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Climbing Cactus yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — and a clear photo of your plant are exactly what keep this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.