It seems I left a few amateur botanists and my favorite farrier hanging after the prior posts. Naughty! So below is video of the initial opening of the flower and what transpired during the viewing party. The first shows little; you have to really watch. Then I charged my phone so there’s a big gap before the final push. Modern tymes, how you alternately delight and vex!
A still of the inner workings. It’s like a magical wonderland in there, as someone noted, and smells divine.
And there you have it, Mr. Platt.
The night blooming cereus is an ugly cactus that puts on a riveting show once a year. Mine, a selenicereus grandiflorus, blooms for only a single night. Plants more mature than mine can produce many fragrant blooms, the size of dinner plates; their owners throw parties on that night (see: Crazy Rich Asians). Mine gets one bloom. If two, someone invariably knocks one off. So, one.
uppervalleygirl 