Queen of the night

[Lappa]

This ugly looking succulent has the most amazing flowers with incredible perfume..

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They usually only flower once a year, at night, and the flower lasts only that night.

This year it has three flowers. This one will bloom tonight and be hanging like a limp rag in the morning.
I’ll put up some pictures of it in full bloom tomorrow.

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These two will probably bloom tomorrow night.

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[BobL]

We have 3 of these plants obtained from the centenarian (Bert) neighbour who had a number of them growing all over his (homemade) outdoor brick with lime mortar dunny. The dunny was always in danger of collapse because he used to pile rubbish up against the rear wall and burn it in a once a year conflagration. The mortar was gradually washed away by the rain and one night the whole thing collapsed. We helped his 70 something year old son with the clean up and asked Bert if we could rescue the plants and he said help yourself.

They flowered about 2 weeks ago during heat wave and we missed the show (AGAIN!)

[Lappa]

First two images are at 8:45pm. Starting to open

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In full full bloom at 10pm -spectacular!

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[apple8]

They certainly are showy flower but a very spiked plant. I made a time lapse 30 second clip of one of ours opening and closing (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RTvbraYaBfg) several years ago.

[Lappa]

Great video. Thanks.
Mine has no spikes at all. Large, flat leaves and the flower comes from where you would expect a spike to be on the leaf.

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I’ll have to do some research and get the scientific name.

On research apple8, it would appear you have the true Queen of the Night (Selenicereus grandiflorus), and I have the pretender to the throne (Epiphyllum oxypetalum) - also called Queen of the Night. Yours is not commonly cultivated but mine is.

Good article here.
Selenicereus grandiflorus - Wikipedia (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selenicereus_grandiflorus)

[Lappa]

All spent after a hard night blooming. Probably never got visited by the moth that it puts this display on for. Overseas travellers are not allowed in:D

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Looking forward to next year, if I remember to check around 9pm :oo: Like BobL J’ve missed a few years of flowering.

[Lappa]

The “Queen” is good to her subjects.
Looks like I’ll have the pleasure of viewing one of her three flowers over three nights.

Flower No. 2

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[Bushmiller]

Lappa

We have a cactus that flowers prolifically, but like your Queen of the Night, the flower opens on dusk and is a spent force by morning. It may be a common trait. It is a huge flower but still not as spectacular as your plant.

Regards
Paul

[Lappa]

Flower No. 3 with the remains of No.2 behind.

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[Bushmiller]

Sorry for the delay in providing pix: I had to find them and still I did not find those I was really looking for.

The bigger cactus is the one in question:

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The buds

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The flowers at night time. They are about 100mm long excluding the stem.

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These pix were taken as night approached.

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In the course of a year this cactus will produce upwards of a hundred flowers. Some years it has produced more than twice that amount. They all last about twelve hours.

This is another cactus with large flowers but is less prolific, although the flowers last a good two days instead.

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Regards
Paul

[Lappa]

Thanks for the pictures Paul.
It’s amazing that such ordinary looking plants can produce flowers as beautiful as they do.

Your’s must look absolutely spectacular when in full bloom, especially with the size of the flowers.

[Bushmiller]

Lappa

Just occasionally the cactus has up to a fifty plus buds at one time, but no more than about eight will be open at the same time. I often miss the flowering as I see they are about to open and then forget to look!

Regards
Paul