Grateful for signs of impending rain. 43/365
And what a beautiful sign it is.
We call this the ‘moonlight cactus’ but it is also known as Harrisia cactus (Harrisia martini), a popular pot plant of the 1980’s, now a monumental weed.
Although dense infestations can choke out pastures and create all sorts of problems with access (not to mention nearly crippling a photographer capturing their magnificent displays in the morning – my foot is still sore and swollen 15 hours after the eventful spiking) I always love the sight of these flowers and their wonderful display of precisely timed blooms.
The Moonlight Cactus is something so very beautiful and spontaneous that you almost forgive this plant for being a weed and want to dig in up and plant it in your own garden.
This ‘weed’ produces the most lovely displays of perfumed white flowers during the moonlight and into the cool morning before closing their flowers shortly after daylight until the next night.
The moonlight cactus to us signifies rain in the coming days and is nearly always true to form. When it begins flowering we are nearly certain of rain after 3 days. It may be a bush tale to some but to our family the cactus is nearly always on the money.
Lets watch the weather map and see how true it is!
