[1] Common names include Arizona queen of the night, nightblooming cereus and Reina de la noche.

The species name greggii honors Josiah Gregg (1806–1850), a merchant, explorer, naturalist, and author of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico.

[2] They tend to be ubiquitous throughout the higher Sonoran Desert area around Tucson.

Tohono Chul in Tucson, Arizona [3] has the largest private collection of Sonoran Desert native Night-blooming Cereus – Peniocereus greggii.

Each summer this botanical garden/museum hosts "Bloom Night", the one night each summer it is predicted the greatest number of cereus flowers will be in bloom, opening from 6pm until midnight to allow guests to stroll the grounds and view the flowers.