Florida: Huge Night Blooming Cactus Flower
September 16, 2015 15 Comments
Cactus Flower 1
Cactus Flower 2
Cactus Flower 3
Cactus Flower 4
Apple-like Fruit of Cactus
Inside of Cactus Fruit
Our night blooming “Apple Cactus” flower opened around midnight one evening last week (Cereus peruvianus monstrose). Common names for the many different varieties of night blooming cacti include “Queen of the Night” and “Princess of the Night”. I dug out our camera gear and photographed the flower for about an hour, while fighting off hordes of mosquitoes. The apple cactus is native to South America, and is named after its edible red fruit (a similar fruit available in the grocery store is the “dragon fruit”). The delicate white petals of the cactus flower remind me of feathers. This huge 6-inch flower is a real beauty!
About Pam
That’s such an interesting plant 🙂
They are truly amazing – a real treat on warm summer nights.
Your photos of the cactus plant are exquisite, Pam! A small suggestion I could offer is to set something next to it or put out your hand, it may help to see its “size.” I know you mentioned six inches which is a big blossom! My imagination is good so I am seeing it in all its splendor. 🙂 Thanks for also sharing the fruit. I have had cactus jelly which has seeds like raspberry jelly but was like a mild pear taste. Yummy!
That’s a good idea for size – always good to have scale. I think I saw cactus jelly when I visited Arizona. Yummy! Raspberry jelly is my go-to favorite for PB&J. 🙂
Pam, I felt your excitement about the night blooming cactus flower, and how you found the will to battle the mosquitos for this beautiful plant. Not easy, but so worth it!
Yes it was a beautiful sight! And a nice big cactus fruit is growing quickly.
It’s beautiful, I’ve seen pictures of the speckled inside before. What does it taste like?
Very mildly sweet pulp with crunchy seeds. Would be best in a fruit salad.
I’m going to try it if I can find one at Whole Foods.
I’m sure you could find dragon fruit. If not, I’ll send you one! 🙂
wow! I thought it resembled a dragonfruit! what a nice bonus; I didn’t know other cacti produced fruit!
Yes, it’s pretty neat. You can also buy in the store opuntia fruit. In the southwest they make jelly with it.
very interesting to know! I don’t know if prickly pear is sold in Vancouver, but I do know that growing the dragonfruit cacti to a large enough size to fruit isn’t easy! 🙂
You’d be amazed how quickly things grow here in the subtropics!
that’s what we would need here for a few of these lovely fruits and plants to flourish! 🙂