Cereus Cactus, Georg Dionysus Ehret, mid 18th century
Georg Dionysus Ehret

Cereus Cactus

mid 18th century · Watercolour

Can I see it?

Not on view at present

Where is “Cereus Cactus” now? Collection: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Not on view at present. Checked September 25, 2026.

Victoria and Albert Museum

London, United Kingdom

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

Checked
In this state since
Source
The museum

About the work

Ehret was one of the greatest botanical illustrators working in the 18th century. He supplied illustrations for a number of important botanical publications. He was also closely involved in publicising and promoting the binomial system of plant classification that was devised by the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus.

The plant depicted is 'Queen of the Night', also known as 'Moon Cereus' (Selenicereus grandiflorus). This painting was reproduced in Plantae Selectae (issued in 10 parts between 1750 and 1773) by the German physician and botanist Dr Christoph Jakob Trew (1695-1769) of Nuremburg, Germany.

Victoria and Albert Museum

Details

Accession number
D.601-1886

What it shows

In the catalog

Sources

All works

On view at Victoria and Albert Museum

Museum page