This remarkable cactus’s blossoms are enormous, heavily fragrant and only open for one night each. If I want to photograph it I need to be willing to stay up late because they fade by dawn. I appreciated it for awhile the first time it bloomed this summer and headed to bed a bit sad because I was too weary to give it the attention it deserved. I committed to capturing some photos of its second flush because that may be it for the year. I placed my trail camera with night vision in front of both bloomings hoping to catch a pollinator, but no luck with that so far, “just” a bobcat and some raccoons.
cactus flower
Epiphyllum hookeri
A year ago today I was in Michigan and had just finished squishing my way through a gorgeous bog that’s guarded by an exceptionally powerful horde of mosquitoes. I was looking for a rare orchid before heading to Bell’s Eccentric Cafe to meet up with some friends who were kind enough to make the drive over from our hometown. This is the first year of my life I won’t be back in the summer. It’s admittedly strange to not be seeing everyone and swimming along favorite Lake Michigan beaches. No firefly watching also hurts. The silver lining is not missing out on shows from plants like this one in our moon garden and getting to go snorkeling here while the water is warm(ish). They have this way of blooming while we’re away and these flowers only last one night. Epiphyllum hookeri is a fragrant species of orchid cactus native to northern central Mexico to Central America, Trinidad and northern Venezuela. Its magnificent blooms are about 9” across.
