Queen in her courtyard

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Day 97: Still at home. Still safe but last night the royal subjects had a treat, proving that you do not have to travel far to find wonder.

Grandma Pearl Bales' Queen bloomed. That's her photo at the top with her Queen, circa 1960s.

The Queen of the Night (Epiphyllum oxypetalum) is a species of epiphyte and one of the most cultivated species in the genus. The Queen can be kept as a large house plant, inside in winter and out-of-doors in summer. She generally blooms yearly but only at night, and her flowers wilt before dawn. Sometimes referred to as a night-blooming cereus, this one is a direct descendent of my Grandma Pearl Bales’ plant.

The two blooms were completely open by 10 p.m. but by 4 a.m. the Queen's time in her courtyard in full bloom royal regalia was beginning to end. And her admirer went to bed. 

And for those on the go, a gram in an Instant. 

Click: Stephen Lyn: Instagram 

Author of Natural Histories, Ghost Birds and Ephemeral by Nature all published by the University of Tennessee Press.

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