92 
PLANTS AND INSECTS 
the woods, but also can more/ readily detect the beautiful handiwork of 
nature, the author and preserver of which is God. 
THE NIGHT-BLOOMING CEREUS 
I T Was almost bedtime when Gertrude came rushing in and asked me 
to accompany her to the home of one of the neighbors. Upon my 
asking why she wished to go. she told me that this lady had a rare and 
peculiar plant which did not bloom until it had reached a great age, and 
then only at night, that on this night it was blooming, and that we were 
invited to see it. I threw a light wrap around me and went with her. 
When we reached the neighbor’s home, we found a number of peo¬ 
ple assembled to watch the opening of the wonderful flowers. In the 
corner of the veranda stood the tall, graceful plant, with its large flower- 
buds slowly expanding, while its fragrant perfume pervaded the whole 
place. 
The lady told me that the plant was a night-blooming cereus, and 
that she had gotten it when it was about one year old, sixteen years ago. 
It began blooming when seven years old, and had bloomed every sum¬ 
mer since that time. 
A bud when ready to bloom begins to open in the evening, and after 
a few hours a full-blown flower—a beautiful white wax-like blossom— 
is seen. But it is destined to a short existence; by sunrise next day it 
will be withered. 
This plant had always bloomed only once during the year, and 
usually that was during August. But last summer it had three seasons 
of blooming, the first one being in the spring. One cool night the flowers 
did not open until midnight or later, and they lasted until after sunrise. 
This afforded a good opportunity to photograph the plant in full bloom, 
which was done. 
The night-blooming cereus belongs to the great cactus family. 
There are many species of the Cereus genus. The stems may be short 
or elongated, creeping or erect. The Cereus gigunteus, or the giant 
cactus, sometimes attains a height of 60 feet and a diameter of 2 feet. 
There are several species that bloom at night, and they get their name 
from this habit. 
The peculiarities of the cactus family are due to its adaptation to 
perennial drouth conditions. Plants growing in well-moistened regions 
