0118 May · 12:19
The promise
A tightly furled bud hangs from the flattened stem, its outer bracts already warming from cream to rose.
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Living collection · Field report
A rare night at JunglePrague
One night
in bloom.
Epiphyllum oxypetalum (DC.) Haw.
Known as Queen of the Night, this forest cactus waits until dusk to unfurl enormous, fragrant white flowers—then closes them again with the morning. Our photographs preserve two flowerings from the same plant, one month apart.
Field notes · Prague, 2024
From held breath
to full radiance.
The time stamps tell the story. A daytime bud can become a flower almost 25 centimetres across by late evening; each individual bloom lasts only until morning, while neighbouring buds may take the next night.
0218 May · 22:45
First night
Ten hours later, the flower is fully open—white inner petals held inside a halo of long, pale tepals.
0315 June · 16:02
Another wave
Four weeks on, a second flush gathers. The curved tube and pink outer bracts make the coming bloom visible hours ahead.
0415 June · 22:14
Peak bloom
By late evening, open flowers and unopened buds share the same stem—a brief sequence of before, during and after.
0515 June · 22:42
After the mist
Droplets collect across the petals. The luminous white bloom seems to hold every point of light in the greenhouse.
0616 June · 22:20
The whole plant
A final wide view records the scale: several flowers suspended across the branching cactus, each facing its own direction.
The JunglePrague collection
Some plants are beautiful every day. Others ask you to be there at exactly the right hour. This is the first in our continuing record of remarkable growth, rare arrivals and fleeting events inside the garden.
See it in the garden