There are some flowers that never see the sun. One of the most curious
is the “evening primrose.” About six o’clock it suddenly bursts open,
with a popping sound, and at six next morning closes.
If you watch that pretty flower, and listen, you can hear this strange
performance.
This is why it does so. The little calyx holds the petals in such a way
that the moment it turns back they are let loose. At once it bursts out
into full flower, with this funny noise, like a pop-gun.
So the “night-blooming cereus” blossom in the night, only for an hour,
giving out its sweet fragrance, and then dies. Just think of never
seeing the sun at all!
In a far Eastern country there is a kind of jasmine called the
“sorrowful tree.” It droops as if sick in the daytime, and at night
grows fresh and bright. It opens its lovely flowers with a very pleasant
odor till morning, and then wilts and looks wretched again.