Savvy, skyward looking night owls may have noticed massive flowers hanging over their heads this week in Colonialtown. The night-blooming cereus, an epiphytic cactus that grows in mature trees, has been blooming since the weekend.
The special cacti are long and skinny and send out beard-like roots that dangle down from the limbs of the trees it has attached itself to in order to catch moisture in the air and rain. The extravagant blooms, some the size of a human head, open for one night only and then droop lifelessly as the sun rises in the morning.
Clusters of the blooms cause spectators, Cereus Nerds (as we call them), will gather on the sidewalks and curbside to take photos and smell the intoxicating perfume of the Night-blooming Cereus, otherwise known as the Queen of the Night.
You can click HERE to use the map or HERE to join the Facebook group, but keep in mind that many of the locations on the map are on private property. Admire from the public right of way and please refrain from invading anyone’s yard.
