Cestrum nocturnum L.
queen of the night
Shrub, generally 1.5-2.5 m high, almost glabrous. Petiole c. 1 cm long. Lamina 5-15 × 1.5-6 cm, elliptic to elliptic-ovate, glabrous or with minute puberulence when young; base cuneate to rounded, sometimes asymmetric; apex abruptly acuminate. Panicle open, large; fls usually shortly pedicellate, sometimes subsessile, fragrant nocturnally. Calyx 2-3 mm long; lobes > 1 mm long, ± triangular, densely ciliolate, acute. Corolla 1.5-2 cm long, pale green or greenish white; tube cylindric to narrow-funnelform, widening slightly above; lobes 3 mm long, eventually spreading, glabrous except for shortly villous margins. Fr. c. 0.5-1 cm diam., globose to ellipsoid, white, glossy.
N.: Tamaterau - near Whangarei, and Whangaparoa Peninsula (N. Auckland), Parnell (Auckland), Otumoetai (Tauranga).
West Indies, C. America 1980
Waste places, sheltered gullies, scrub.
FL Nov-Mar.
Poisonous (Connor 1977).
Queen of the night is fairly commonly cultivated in warmer parts of N.Z.
