![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Tohono Chul says that about 1,500 people came to the garden on Friday night, where they got to see the Cereus greggii go from a small bud to a palm-sized flower right before their eyes. Plant-lovers often gather to celebrate its unfurling, and such gatherings are not a new idea. As the Washington Post writes, “Informal gatherings to witness the annual affair were commonplace in small-town America before World War II.” Local newspapers announced when the cereus buds were swelling and the bloom imminent, and “neighbors and strangers alike arrived for the show.” The night-blooming cereus is known for its ethereal, star-like blossoms, as well its tendency to bloom all at once. And so, last Friday, the garden sent out an email with the subject line: “Bloom Night is Tonight!” Staff at the Tohono Chul garden, a non-profit botanical garden and nature preserve in Tucson, Arizona, often can’t tell when their record-setting collection of Cereus greggiiflowers will unfurl their long, fragrant petals until a few hours before they do. The flowers are a bit of a scientific mystery: They usually bloom on just one night a year, and en masse. On Friday, June 12, the world’s largest private collection of night-blooming cereus plants burst open. ![]()
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