Cactus flowers is one amongst the things I'm always fascinated with ... And Wijaya Kusuma is actually one of them, although this one ain't it but it looks similar, doesn't it? That is because the difference between them is only their species, but their genus is the same ...
I remember the first time I was mesmerized by its beauty... My grandfather's (from my mother's side) cactuses were blossom and their colors were widely mixed from white, yellow, orange, red, purple, and even green! (Well, at that time, the only flower which I know that has green color is only Kenanga Flower) ... And also their colors were bright ... Seeing those beautiful flowers bloom from (not so fonded) plants which also have spikes, mesmerizing me even more ...
And indeed The Universe works in a strange and unique way ... Around a year later, my grandmother (from my father's side) gave me a Wijaya Kusuma plant (which looked like only a green thin stick to me) and she said: "Take a good care of it, try to plant it ... If you can manage to make it grow, then you have the chance to see one of "the miracle" ... Because it's a unique one, its flowers only blooms and reach its full blossom only at midnight, so make sure you're there when it happens ... Because it's a rare sight and kinda "sacred thing" ... Also consider you're lucky enough to witness its full blossom but above all, don't forget to be grateful and be thankful to The Almighty for letting you be at that particular moment!" ...
I was like 7 - 8 years old at that time, and I was happened to know about Wijaya Kusuma's stories, so yes, I was very excited and enthusiastic about this (not to mentioned about "the burden" I had if I failed to plant this "strange green thin stick"😅) ... But thanks to The Almighty, the plant was lived and it started to show some sign that its flowers were going to appear soon ...
When the moment almost came, I was outside the house from 10 o'clock, getting ready and stand nearby it ... Because I was a little kid🙈, my mother asked: "What are you doing outside at this hour?", and I replied: "I'm waiting for Wijaya Kusuma to bloom" then she just smiled and went back inside the house while saying: "Make sure you go to sleep afterwards" ...
To be able watched the process was indescribable feeling for me, I mean by words ... Then oddly enough, just like my grandmother said, it reached its full blossom at precisely 00.00 o'clock (kinda strange though), which makes me had a goosebumps, but this one was different ...
And the story behind this flowers (Cereus Peruvianus) was quite interesting also (at least for me😅) ...
I was in the moment planting my little garden, and after I planted Kamboja tree, Lemon and Orange trees, Grapes, Sunflower and Telang/Butterly pea flower, I wanted to plant some cactuses ... When "strangely", out of the blue, one of my neighbor gave me some cactuses, which precisely what I wanted (because I didn't make an announcement or something like that😅) ... I still didn't know much about this one, I thought it was just like an "ordinary" cactus ...
But then it cames to the moment when it blossomed and I suddenly came into realization that its flower was similar with Wijaya Kusuma that I had many many years ago, so I started to find out more about this cactus ...
And the explanation is like I mentioned before, this flower is native from Peru, while Wijaya Kusuma is actually native from Mexico (based on the latest molecular research, before it was classify in Epiphyllum genus but now it's in Disocactus genus), that's why it called "Cereus Mexicanus", the synonym from its Latin name: "Disocactus Anguliger" ...
The quote from Andy Warhol crossed my mind: "EVERY THING HAS ITS OWN BEAUTY, BUT NOT EVERY ONE SEES IT"😊
Image taken in Bali ( Note 8 )
