Queen of the Night

Queen of the night is a climbing cactus native to the Caribbean and parts of Central America, celebrated for producing enormous, fragrant white flowers that open for only a single night each year before wilting by morning. Each bloom can reach nearly a foot across and releases a heavy, sweet perfume intended to draw in the night-flying moths that pollinate it. Because the flowering event is so brief and unpredictable, spotting one in bloom is considered a rare occasion among gardeners who grow the plant.