Rare moonflower blooms again in Cambridge

The first of four flowers on a rare Amazonian cactus that blooms only once a year has appeared - but it will die off in just 12 hours.

The moonflower, or Strophocactus wittii, is part of the collection at Cambridge University Botanic Garden.

It is "rare" that they bloom in captivity and when it happened in February 2021 it was believed to be the first time one had flowered in the UK.

Usually opening at sunset, staff were surprised when it bloomed at lunchtime.

The plant excited staff at the garden this year by producing not just one, but four potential blooms - a number believed to be a first for the cactus in cultivation in the UK.

Its progress is being monitored on webcam and the top bud showed itself at about 13:30 GMT.

The garden's glasshouse is open to the public until 16:30 if people wish to see it for themselves.

A second is expected to bloom soon, but it was unlikely to happen today, the garden said.

When it first flowered three years ago during lockdown, it attracted the attention of 500,000 people from around the world who tuned in to watch online.

It did not bloom in 2022, but flowered again in March last year.

While the moonflower is not rare in the wild, it is rare in cultivation, a garden spokesperson said.

This species of Strophocactus is grown in 30 botanic gardens worldwide and its beauty is short-lived, as flowers start to die after just 12 hours.

They are keen to point out that their plant is not the same as other flowering cacti which have the same common name of moonflower.

"The name moonflower is given to a lot of cacti which people often have flowering at home," senior horticulturist Kathryn Bray said.

"This plant - Strophocactus wittii - is definitely rare in the UK and in botanic gardens in general, outside its native habitat in the Amazon, so it's important to always go by the Latin name."

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