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Description
This photo was taken in my front yard at night under the light of a flashlight. This particular species of the genus Cereus seems to only provide flowers during the night in a warm season.

Usually a bud will begin to sprout and grow for 2-3 days. On the blooming day, near sundown, the flower quickly blooms. By morning time it looks ragged and in poor shape. The flower then shrivels and the entire stem structure of the flower separates from the cactus within a day.

If the flower was fertilized, an edible fruit (also called a Jerusalem Apple) will begin to grow where the flower stem broke off. These fruit are pinkish red, about the size of a kiwi, has pale flesh and dozens of sesame seed-sized black seeds, and take a few days to a week to mature. The fruit then finally cracks open, and at that time, it is at its sweetest.

I've never gotten the opportunity to taste it, because birds and bugs REALLY love the fruit and always seem to get first dibs.

Description
This photo was taken in my front yard at night under the light of a flashlight. This particular species of the genus Cereus seems to only provide flowers during the night in a warm season.

Usually a bud will begin to sprout and grow for 2-3 days. On the blooming day, near sundown, the flower quickly blooms. By morning time it looks ragged and in poor shape. The flower then shrivels and the entire stem structure of the flower separates from the cactus within a day.

If the flower was fertilized, an edible fruit (also called a Jerusalem Apple) will begin to grow where the flower stem broke off. These fruit are pinkish red, about the size of a kiwi, has pale flesh and dozens of sesame seed-sized black seeds, and take a few days to a week to mature. The fruit then finally cracks open, and at that time, it is at its sweetest.

I've never gotten the opportunity to taste it, because birds and bugs REALLY love the fruit and always seem to get first dibs.