Moonflower: timelapse of rare Amazonian cactus blooming for one night only – video

A rare Amazonian cactus called the moonflower has bloomed for what botanists believe is the first time in the UK. Experts at the University of Cambridge’s Botanic Garden kept a night watch throughout the week so they did not miss the flowering of Selenicereus wittii – an event that usually begins at sunset and is over by sunrise. The moonflower actually bloomed earlier on Saturday afternoon at about 3pm, and the garden said it was 28cm (11in) long. The flower produces a sweet-smelling scent that turns ‘rancid’ after just two hours, as the plant begins to die.

• Rare Amazonian cactus flowers for first time in UK
• Ready, steady, bloom! Botanists wait for rare cactus to open for one night only

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