The Night Blooming Cactus Of Tucson, Arizona
Saturday, September 19th, 2009
Cereus Peruvianus
The night-blooming cereus is a tall husky cactus that grows upright with six vertical ribs and sparse quarter-inch spines. They produce the most gorgeous trumpet shaped blooms which have many soft delicate petals that come in several shades of creams and light pink colors.
The scent of the flowers is similar to that of a very light perfume and ripe melon.
Under the warm starlit skies of a Tucson, Arizona B&B night, a magical mystical show is about to take place at our Tucson,Arizona Bed and Breakfast with the exquisitely beautiful night blooming cactus setting the stage.
Now the migrating pollinators of the night appear at our Tucson, Bed and Breakfast such as the nectar loving Mexican long-tongued and the lesser long-nosed bats.
Lesser Long-nosed Bat
The nectar loving bats have discovered our Tucson B&B and our many hummingbird feeders, which they drink dry every night at this time of the year.
Here at our Tucson, Arizona Bed and Breakfast the guests love to have Tucson B&B bat watching parties and enjoy a margarita toast to the magnificent night blooming cactus and enjoy the evening show.
Cereus Peruvianus at sunrise
In the early morning when the sun rises over our Tucson Bed and Breakfast Inn, the birds and the bees and other insects enjoy partaking from the now closing cactus flowers.
Each cactus flower will close up, dry up and fall off the plants.
Where the flower once was, a soft ripe reddish pink round fruit will develop with many small black seeds inside.
The fruit is called a Peruvian apple or also known as tuna by the Mexican people.
Inside the fruit it looks very much like a soft over ripened kiwi fruit but it tastes rather plain.
The gila woodpeckers and many other Tucson birds and desert wildlife of the Arizona Sonora Desert love to eat these cactus fruits.
So, The chain of life goes on at the Tucson, Arizona Bed and Breakfast Inn
located in the Tucson desert nestled near the Saguaro National Park East.
It’s a beautiful thing to behold!
More to follow from The Tucson Innkeeper’s Blog
