ABSTRACT
Cestrum species are woody shrubs in the family Solanaceae, indigenous to the tropical and warm temperate regions of Central and South America. Some species are found at relatively high altitudes in the tropical zones and may be adapted to relatively low temperatures. Cestrum species are propagated from seed or cuttings. The flowers of C. nocturnum occur singly or, more commonly, in clusters of 3 to 5 with as many as 20 clusters on one axillary branch. Flowers appear at axillary positions usually 10 to 20 nodes below the apex. Griesel also counted the number of flower clusters, but for comparative studies with species and hybrids the average number of days to anthesis, the standard deviation, and the number of days for 99% of the population to bloom were calculated for each species. No minimum age or minimum number of nodes for flowering has been determined for any Cestrum species.
