Close-up of a specimen of a night-blooming cereus (Cereus greggii), ca.1920

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Description

Photograph of a close-up of a specimen of a night-blooming cereus (Cereus greggii), ca.1920. Pictured against a dark background, the bloom hangs in from the top left corner of the image.; "One of the strangest plants of the desert, the Night-blooming Cereus is a member of the Cactus Family that resembles nothing more than a dead bush most of the year. It is rarely seen in the wild because of its inconspicuousness. But for one midsummer's night each year, its exquisitely scented flower opens as night falls, then closes forever with the first rays of the morning sun. The Night-blooming Cereus has sparse, angular, lead-gray, twiggy stems about 1/2 inch in diameter. Extremely small spines grow along the 4 to 6 ribs of these woody stems, which can easily break. It can be erect or sprawling, reaching a length of up to 8 feet, but is usually half that length. The Night Blooming Cereus has a tuberous, turnip-like root usually weighing 5 to 15 pounds (but in some specimens weighing over 100 pounds), which Native Americans used as a food source. A close Baja relation (Peniocereus. johnstonii), called Saramatraca, Pitayita, or Matraca is locally popular for its edible tuber, which is said to account for the plant's scarcity there. Night-blooming Cereus is popular in rock gardens and can be grown from stem cuttings. After the cut end is allowed to heal for several weeks, it is planted in dry sand. Like all cactus, Night-blooming Cereus may be protected in certain desert areas, and permits may be required to collect them." -- unknown author.

Asset Metadata

Title Close-up of a specimen of a night-blooming cereus (Cereus greggii), ca.1920

Subject Botany -- Cacti (file heading), Cactus (lcsh)

Tags OAI-PMH Harvest

Place California (states), USA (countries)

Temporal Subject 1920

Type images

Format 2 photographs : glass photonegative, photoprint, b&w ; 26 x 21 cm. (aacr2), glass plate negatives (format), photographic prints (aat), photographs (aat)

Source California Historical Society (contributing entity), California Historical Society Collection, 1860-1960 (collection), Title Insurance and Trust, and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection, 1860-1960 (subcollection)

Date Created 1920

Publisher University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Repository Email specol@lib.usc.edu

Repository Name USC Libraries Special Collections

Repository Location Doheny Memorial Library, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189

Rights Public Domain. Please credit both “University of Southern California. Libraries” and “California Historical Society” as the source. Digitally reproduced by the USC Digital Library.

Copyright Public Domain. Please credit both “University of Southern California. Libraries” and “California Historical Society” as the source. Digitally reproduced by the USC Digital Library.

Access Conditions Send requests to address or e-mail given

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/chs-m17403

Identifier 5503 (accession number), CHS-5503 (call number), CHS-5503 (filename), chs-m265 (legacy collection record id), chs-c65-17400 (legacy record id), chs-m17403 (legacy record id), USC-1-1-1-14203 (legacy record id), 1-77-65 (microfiche number), USC (project)

IIIF ID [Document.IIIFV3ID]

DM Record ID 17400

Unique identifier UC142368

Legacy Identifier CHS-5503.tiff

Type Image

Internet Media Type image/tiff

Resolution 15.0 in × 18.7 in at 300dpi
38.2 cm × 47.6 cm at 300dpi

Inherited Values

Title Title Insurance and Trust and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection 1860-1960

Description The nearly 15,000 unique photographs of this collection contain the work of C.C. Pierce which cover the Los Angeles region city, street and architectural views, California Missions, Southwestern Native Americans, and turn-of-century Nevada, Arizona, and California. Pierce, active from 1886 to 1940, was one of the leading photographers of his day and amassed a collection of 15,000 images, including his own and those bought and copied from his contemporaries, George Wharton James and Charles Puck. The James collection contains over 2,000 images of portraits, customs, ceremonies, arts, and games of various groups of Southwestern Native Americans.

Date Created 1860/1960

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