Some of the literature says that the cactus known as Queen of the Night (Epiphyllum oxypetalum) blooms only once or twice a year but if that is the case, we may need to rewrite the book.
Our Queen just does not want to leave center stage.
That is the endearing attraction of this ivory bloom: It opens up one night in a spectacular display and with the morning’s light, all that remains is a drooping shallow resemblance of its formerly glorious self.
Tonight, for the fourth time this year, a Queen has made an appearance — for one night only.
We’ve had as many as a dozen blooms in a single night.
Tonight, there is only one and she is gorgeous.
In Mexican folklore, the Queen of the Night flower is said to “have magical healing powers and to be inhabited by good spirits.” They are said to embody “spiritual growth, inner strength, and purity.”
Its short life is a reminder of the preciousness and brevity of all life. It bursts forth in the darkness, often unwitnessed and unappreciated, and lingers only until first light when it withers and dies. None of this has deterred it from producing something so rare and beautiful that it can take your breath away.
Queen of the Night and its various cousins have inspired literature, art, mythology, and mysticism for centuries. You can read a survey of Queen of the Night as muse here.
Here are some previous blog posts from previous bloomings:
Musings, Magic, San Miguel and More 
Gorgeous. My science bent is trying to figure how this quite remarkable beauty, with brevity, evolved
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Jim, some of what I read says the plants depend on bats for pollination, which may be why they bloom only at night. And of course the white flowers that open like a shredded parachute are designed to be easily detected by bat radar. If this is true, it is the most specific form of evolution that I’ve ever head of!
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Ahh, Thanks!
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Thank you for that post, because now I know the name of the plant someone left on my sidewalk a year or so ago. I live in one of those barrios where you can just leave stuff that’s no longer wanted on the sidewalk, and it’ll be gone in less than 10 minutes. But I’ve only seen the wilted blooms in the daytime, so now I’m motivated to go out at night and see the blooms in, well, full bloom.
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It’s worth setting the alarm for! How wonderful that someone “gifted” you a queen of the night! They are believed to bring good luck to their owners, too.
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Good afternoon. I very much enjoy your postings and miss the sixteen years we spent in San Miguel, unti my husband passed away. Has SNAFAQ gone out of business? I no longer receive their daily posts, nor can I link onto a web page for them.
Again, I enjoy your Musings from the Magic of San Miguel.
Blessings.
Mireille Grovier
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Thanks for writing Mireille. I hope I can bring you a bit of what you enjoyed most about San Miguel. I have sad news as far as SMAFAQ which is now closed down:
I can’t share the original announcement so I will reproduce it here. The founder of SMAFAQ, Glenn Wilson, passed away a week ago. It is still a shock to many of us. He gave so much to this SMA community.
MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR GLENN WILSON
A memorial service is set for Thursday. Here’s the information:
“A simple memorial to celebrate the life of Glenn Wilson will be held this Thursday, November 16th from 4-6 PM at Tacos Don Felix, Fray Juan de San Miguel 15 in Col. San Rafael.
“Glenn touched the lives of many in San Miguel through his SMAFAQ newsletter, many chess activities, and other community interests. For those who wish, there will be an opportunity to say a few words about Glenn.
“In lieu of flowers, donations would be welcome and appreciated by either of the following two organizations that were close to Glenn’s heart:
Caminos de Agua: https://www.caminosdeagua.org ”
EdCaminos: http://edcaminos.org
Original announcement from Victoria Wilson:
I’d like to share with the SMA community that my dear husband, Glenn Wilson 2/27/58-11/8/23, passed away Wednesday morning.
He loved San Miguel, his work with SMAFAQ, and also the great chess community here.
A celebration of life will be held for Glenn in the future and details will be provided at that time.
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