Dutchman's Pipe, Queen of the Night

Description:

Stems are erect, ascending, scandent, or sprawling and profusely branched. Primary stems are terete, up through 6 m long, flattened laterally, and ligneous at their bases. Secondary stems are flat, elliptic-acuminate, up through 30 cm x 10–12 cm. Stem margins are shallowly through deeply crenate and undulate. Flowers are produced from flattened portions, are up through 30 cm long and 17 cm wide, nocturnal, and very fragrant. The principal odor component in the aroma is benzyl salicylate. Pericarpels are nude, slightly angled, and green. Bracteoles are short and narrow up through ca. 10 mm long. Receptacles are up through 20 cm long, 1 cm thick, brownish, and arching. Outer tepals are linear, acute, 8–10 cm long, and reddish through amber. Inner tepals are whitish, oblanceolate through oblong, acuminate, up through 8–10 cm long and 2,5 cm wide. Stamens are greenish white or white, slender and weak. Styles are greenish white, pale yellow, or white, 4 mm thick, as long as inner tepals, and with many lobes. Fruit are oblong, up through 12 x 8 cm, purplish red, and angled.

Habitat:

In a garden, on a small volcano, on Saba in the Caribbean Sea.

Notes:

E. oxypetalum blooms rarely and only at night, and its flowers wilt before dawn. The last two pictures I took on the walk the next day. All the flowers were gone and wilted already!