Selby Gardens to hold watch party for the ‘Queen of the Night’
SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - People will be gathering at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens tonight for an expected appearance of the “Queen of the Night,” a cactus that blooms only once a year.
The plant is a selenicereus, an epiphytic, lithophytic and terrestrial cactus genus found in Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America, Selby Gardens noted in a news release.
On a single night each year, as twilight moves to night, spectacular blossoms open up all along the length of the plant for a few brief hours. As dawn sets in on the horizon, the petals close up before another year passes for a repeat performance.
A watch party is set from 7-11 p.m. Thursday at the Hobart K. Swan and Janis F. Swan Live Oak Arrival Court, at Selby Gardens’ downtown Sarasota campus, 1534 Mound Street, to witness this annual natural phenomenon. The event will take place rain or shine.
Guests are encouraged to bring their camera, lawn chair, bug spray and flashlight. Food and beverages, including wine and beer, will be available for purchase from the Michael’s on East Food Truck.
Viewing will also be available via livestream on the Selby Gardens Facebook page.
*The Garden grounds will be closed, but the viewing is open to the public.
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