When we saw the white tips of the inner petals showing on the flower buds this morning, I knew that they would be open tonight. Two of the three large buds opened into the showy night-blooming flowers that make the Argentine Giant Cactus popular.
Echinopsis candicans is a species of cactus from northern Argentina. It has large fragrant white flowers that open at night.
The cactus has a shrubby growth habit, with individual stems up to 24 inches tall. The plant as a whole can be as much as 10 feet across. The stems are light green, with a diameter of up to 5.5 inches and have 9–11 low ribs. The large white areoles are spaced at 0.8–1.2 inches and produce brownish yellow spines, the central spines being up to 4 inches long, the radial spines only up to 1.6 inches. The fragrant white flowers are large, up to 7.5 inches across and 7.1–9.1 inches long.
That’s quite pretty.
Thank you. We enjoy them.