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The blossoming of Epiphyllum oxypetalum is particularly dramatic. Each opened bloom has an 8-inches diameter. The blooms start opening up when night is falling and close again forever when the first light of dawn appears. But all night blooming is a genuine fireworks; the perfume of only one flower fills a whole 70-square yard greenhouse with its fragrance.
As for the petals of the blooms faded in the early hours, some
Vietnamese people use them to make soups which are supposed to have tonic
and aphrodisiac medicinal properties…. (I report the remarks of a reader
of my website.)
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