Epiphyllum with strange stem

My cousin gave me this plant over a year ago and it has thrived. A few months ago it started sending up a long shoot which now has a leaf at the very end. My research tells me that it is an epiphyllum, perhaps oxypetalum? Nowhere on the net do I see any reference to this long stem . . . can anyone tell me what it is and what I should do with it, if anything?

 

I don't know much about these, but I would take that to be a complaint about not enough light.

 

It's in a south-facing window: I've always thought that it's in danger of having too much light, as its native habitat is in the depths of the tropical forest, so I try to filter the light as much as possible.

 

Although the following article is not on Epiphyllum oxypetalum, the information contained therein should explain the long appendage. Also note that the author thought his plant was E. oxypetalum at one time. The article suggests a plant's true identity cannot be confirmed without looking at the bloom.

From: Epiphyllum phyllanthus, Epiphyllum phyllanthus subspecies phyllanthus (L.) Haw., Exotic Rainforest rare tropical plants

 

Thank you: that's very helpful. In this case it was a slat in the venetian blind that gave it an additional growth platform!

 

Thanks, Junglekeeper. That sounds familiar, now that I'm reading what you said.

 

Not quite true - they grow in the canopy of tropical rainforests, high above the ground, so do get a lot of light. That also answers the odd question of why a cactus (a drought-adapted plant) is growing in rainforest: they need to be able to store water between spells of rain, as there is no groundwater store they can use. Your plant is trying to grow towards a new location other side of the blocking 'foliage' (the blind) to get more light ;-)

 

Thanks everyone, for your replies. I am contemplating repotting it into a hanging basket as per the article that Junglekeeper suggested, and opening up those blinds a bit more.

 

My Epiphyllum oxypetalum , in four large pots, has just been pruned by hurricane damage, but I've had many cladodes like your long arching one. Mine grow outside hanging in red maples, Acer rubrum. Which also were dramatically pruned. The cacti are out year round, in the same trees with and without foliage. So they get direct sun at times. Those with significantly more sun turn reddish. Blooming does not appear to be related to the amount of sun, or even the type of potting medium, but seems to be more frequent on plants that are allowed to grow without pruning.

 

Thanks, thanrose - based on your comment, I'll allow mine to grow without pruning: it would be great to see a bloom!