The "Queens of the Night" bloomed in St. Petersburg for the first time in 20 years

An unusual and rare phenomenon occurred in the Botanical Garden of St. Petersburg on the night of Wednesday, June 17. On two cacti, popularly known as the "Queen of the Night", 13 flowers opened.

"By 4 p.m., we will understand that today we have a quiet rest or a new challenge and a Battle of Queens," said the staff of the garden.

The St. Petersburg copy of the "Queen of the Night" or Selenicereus krupnotsvetkovy is one of the largest and oldest in Europe. After flowering, the plant will die, which will be a great loss for the garden.

As he writes 78.ru similar cacti bloomed only once in the Botanical Garden. This happened a long time ago, back in the 2000s.

Previously, scientists found out that cacti, despite their reputation as slow-growing plants, turned out to be one of the fastest-evolving organisms. The rate of appearance of new species was determined by the change in the shape of the flower.