The Brief
- The Selby Gardens Queen of the Night event brought the Sarasota community together to witness a rare botanical display.
- The night-blooming cactus opens its flowers for just one night each year before the buds close at sunrise.
- Hundreds of people come for the annual event each year.
SARASOTA, Fla. – Hundreds of people gathered at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in downtown Sarasota to witness the annual blooming of the Queen of the Night.
The rare cactus produces hundreds of flowers for just a single evening each year, prompting a spontaneous, free community viewing party.
Queen of the Night bloom
What we know:
The night-blooming cactus puts on a spectacular show by flowering only one evening per year.
“When the sun comes up, the buds will close and that show is over until a whole year from now,” Jennifer Rominiecki, the president and CEO of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, explained.
Signs of a bloom
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