Queen of the Night
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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Queen of the Night
(Selenicereus grandiflorus), a creeping or twining plant of the family Cactaceae. The seven- or eightribbed stems are relatively slender, measuring less than 2.5 cm across; they bear aerial roots and areoles with small spines. The white solitary flowers are very large, measuring as much as 30 cm across, and have the fragrance of vanilla. Flowering is nocturnal. Queen of the night is distributed in Jamaica, Cuba, and Mexico along coasts and the edges of forests. An extract of the petals and stems is used in folk medicine. In the USSR the plant is grown in conservatories. The species S. hamatus and S. macdonaldiae are also called queen of the night. Propagation is by seeds and cuttings.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Queen of the Night
urges the murder of Sarastro, her husband, by their daughter. [Ger. Opera: Mozart The Magic Flute in Benét, 619]
See: Evil
Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.