Редкий кактус «Королева ночи» расцвел в Гранд-Форкс всего на семь часов

Today in History revisits the Thursday, Sept. 1, 1977, edition of the Grand Forks Herald and highlights a story of a cactus, native to tropical Mexico and Brazil, blooming in East Grand Forks after three years. The bloom lasted only about seven hours. No ordinary blooming By Anne Valentine ADVERTISEMENT Herald Staff Writer When Wy Sheppard's Night Blooming Cereus flowered one night this week, it was no ordinary blooming — sniffing and admiring friends and neighbors were on hand during the short but impressive life of the delicate, strongly-perfumed flower. The eight-inch wide bloom belonged to a three-year-old Epiphyllum oxypetalum cactus, a native of tropical Mexico and Brazil rare in these parts and commonly called "Queen of the Night," which grows in Sheppard's greenhouse east of East Grand Forks. Botanists speculate some cacti may bloom at night to protect their flowers from day-munching animals, but Sheppard's plant had no cause to worry — only a careful pollination attempt was made.