Night Bloomer Macro

We have been packing this cactus garden around for several years and finally, we have a beautiful bloom and this is a macro of it!... more

by Robert Bales

Title

Night Bloomer Macro

Artist

Robert Bales

Medium

Photograph - Photo

Description

We have been packing this cactus garden around for several years and finally, we have a beautiful bloom and this is a macro of it!

One of the strangest plants of the desert, the night blooming cereus, is a member of the cactus family that resembles nothing more than a dead bush most of the year. It is rarely seen in the wild because of its inconspicuousness. But for one midsummer's night each year, its exquisitely scented flower opens as night falls, then closes forever with the first rays of the morning sun.
They are found on the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts of southern Arizona, east to western Texas and south to northern Mexico.
The flowers are very fragrant trumpet-shaped flowers, which bloom for only one night and they are up to 4 inches wide and as much as 8 inches long.
Echinopsis is a large genus of cacti native to South America, sometimes known as hedgehog cactus, sea-urchin cactus or Easter lily cactus. One small species, E. chamaecereus, is known as the peanut cactus. The 128 species range from large and treelike types to small globose cacti. The name derives from echinos hedgehog or sea urchin, and opsis appearance, a reference to these plants' dense coverings of spines.
Echinopsis is distinguished from Echinocactus by the length of the flower tube, from Cereus by the form and size of their stems, and from both in the position on the stem occupied by the flowers. They are remarkable for the great size, length of tube, and beauty of their flowers, which, borne upon generally small and dumpy stems, appear much larger and more attractive than would be expected.

Uploaded

May 7th, 2019