Queen of the Night

I saw this beautiful flower in my garden one day, and how ironic that it was growing from an unsightly cactus.

Actually, I have been eyeing those buds since they started sprouting from the cactus. I got excited after seeing a number of them in varying stages of development. But for some strange reasons, I always see them either in a "just about to bloom" stage or withering stage.

I got lucky one day when I went out to the garden very early in the morning and saw a flower in full bloom (or so I thought). I took a couple of pictures, put one in a container with some water, and brought it to school. After about 2 hours, the flower has withered and died.

So I did some research and found out that this beautiful and fragrant flower is called "Queen of the Night" or "Nightblooming cereus" (Peniocereus greggii). The Desert USA website has this to say about this mysterious flower, which would explain it all:

"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."

It is just so awe-inspiring that God created this beautiful flower for us to enjoy for a single night. And from a plant known for its prickly thorns, nonetheless. There are a few more buds on the cactus, and when they have all bloomed, I should have to wait for another year before I see them again.


"God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good." ~Genesis 1:31