Argentine Cactus

The Argentine Giant (aka Easter Lily Cactus) is known for its sprawling stems that originate from a central point. But its better known for the giant... more

by Robert Bales

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Argentine Cactus

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Robert Bales

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Photograph - Photo

Description

The Argentine Giant (aka Easter Lily Cactus) is known for its sprawling stems that originate from a central point. But its better known for the giant flowers, measuring up to 8 inches across, that it gets: Unfortunately, these flowers only last about 1 day, opening at night. If the weather is hot, as it was the day I shot the above photo, they start to wilt by mid-morning. And the one-day duration really worked against me. With a new baby at the house I was not able to get out in time to take a photo while the morning light was nice, leaving me with the harshly lit snapshot above.
A columnar cactus with each stem fast growing up to 4 inches wide, 3 feet tall, and clumping 6 - 7 feet wide. Most books say that they only clump to about 3 feet but as you can see from the top photo, the plants can spread to about 7 feet.
It's fragrant blooms normally open at night and persist until early morning. The bright white petals and yellow centers attract night pollinators such as, moths and bats.
While it is said to be a nocturnal blooming cactus with the flowers closing at early morning. On cool, cloudy days in Arizona; the flowers continue blooming during the day.

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March 15th, 2014

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