Qk.ly: http://bit.ly/bsxBraKam
The flowers were at it again! Last night caught these two in our backyard:
We had been watching six-seven buds for a while. The day before last night, three bloomed and died by the morning (talk of a one-night stand!). But was lucky to catch these and two others last night.
Some time back, we had this:
It was a very pleasant shock to see it in full bloom; we have been wanting to check it out for a while.
Anuj was wondering whether it was a variety of cactus and, sure enough, it was. From Selenicereus grandiflorus:
Selenicereus grandiflorus is a cactus species originating from the Antilles, Mexico and Central America. The species is commonly referred to as Nightblooming Cereus, Queen of the Night (though these two terms are also used for other species), Large-flowered Cactus, Sweet-Scented Cactus or Vanilla Cactus. The true species is extremely rare in cultivation. Most of the plants under this name belong to other species or hybrids.Some more on the Brahma Kamalam:
Though a rare flower and hard to obtain, there are people around the country who grow it in their gardens. They wait for it to bloom on a rainy night and the event of the blooming is celebrated with much reverence. Neighbours are usually invited to witness the blooming of the flower and the ones who witness it are considered lucky or blessed.The weirdest thing about them is how the flowers come out of the leaf, rather than out of the stem!
Here are all my photos tagged Brahma Kamalam on Flickr.
Here's Brahmakamalam Sreelakamakiya by KJ Yesudas: (thanks to Chery San)
