我が家の月下美人が今年も今日開花しました。半開きの時はクリーム色ですが完全に花が開くと白色になります。 月下美人は英語で "Queen of the Night" と言うそうですが、同名のチューリップもあるので "Queen of the Night Cactus" とも呼ばれています。 学名はEpiphyllum oxypetalum で原産はメキシコ。 緑の昆布状の形をして葉・茎をもつサボテンで、花が咲かないと綺麗とは言いがたい植物です。 花も葉も見かけはそっくり同じだが花の色が赤い種類は孔雀サボテンと呼ばれ、月下美人の近縁・園芸種だそうです。 夜に開花し翌日にはしぼんでしまう（２日位持つ事もある）のは残念ですが、良い事には花と葉から花の間の茎状の部分は食用になるので、しぼんだ花を電子レンジにかけポン酢で食べるのも楽しみです。
下記はWebにあった "Queen of the Night Cactus" の説明です。
Epiphyllum oxypetalum (Queen of the Night Cactus)is an erect, then pendent, perennial cactus which produces freely branching, flattened stems. It bears nocturnal, tubular, white flowers which are magnificently perfumed. Each flower only lasts one night.
One of the strangest plants of the desert, the Night-bloomiing Cereus is a member of the Cactus Family that resembles nothing more than a dead bush most of the year. It is rarely seen in the wild because of its inconspicuousness. But for one midsummer's night each year, its exqusitely scented flower opens as night falls, then closes forever with the first rays of the morning sun.
下記はWebにあった "Queen of the Night Cactus" の説明です。
Epiphyllum oxypetalum (Queen of the Night Cactus)is an erect, then pendent, perennial cactus which produces freely branching, flattened stems. It bears nocturnal, tubular, white flowers which are magnificently perfumed. Each flower only lasts one night.
One of the strangest plants of the desert, the Night-bloomiing Cereus is a member of the Cactus Family that resembles nothing more than a dead bush most of the year. It is rarely seen in the wild because of its inconspicuousness. But for one midsummer's night each year, its exqusitely scented flower opens as night falls, then closes forever with the first rays of the morning sun.
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