Nocturnus
/nok-TUR-nus/🏷️ Taxonomy●● Intermediate
Also known as: nocturna, nocturnum
A phenological epithet indicating the plant opens its flowers after dark — typically to attract night-flying pollinators such as moths and bats. Night-flowering plants are often white or pale-colored (visible in low light) and strongly fragrant. Appears as nocturnus (masculine), nocturna (feminine), or nocturnale (neuter).
Etymology
From Latin nocturnus, meaning "of the night" or "nocturnal," from nox/noctis (night).
Example
“Silene noctiflora (night-flowering catchfly) and Nicotiana nocturna open and release their fragrance only after dark — attracting the long-tongued hawk moths that are the only visitors able to reach the nectar at the bottom of their tubes.”