Cambridge Moonflower: Rare flower blooms again!

The flower last bloomed in February 2021

A rare cactus flower which captivated more than half a million people during lockdown has flowered for the first time in over two years.

The moonflower is part of the collection at Cambridge University Botanic Garden.

The last time the plant - which is also known as Strophocactus wittii - bloomed, it was believed to be the first time it had EVER done so in the UK.

The flower's progress has been watched on a live webcam

This time around, the rare plant bloomed at about 5pm on Saturday, which came as a surprise to staff at the garden as the flower usually comes out during the night.

It "surprised us with a late afternoon bloom", staff at the botanic gardens wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

However, the window to capture its beauty was short lived.

That's because the flower only lasts for around 12 hours before it begins to die.

Although the moonflower isn't rare in the wild, this particular species can only be found in just 16 botanic gardens worldwide.

By Sunday morning the flower, that bloomed on Saturday evening, was already fading away

Staff at the garden have also been keen to point out their plant is not the same as other cacti which are also commonly known as moonflowers.

"The name moonflower is given to a lot of cacti which people often have flowering at home," senior horticulturist Kathryn Bray said.

"This plant - Strophocactus wittii - is definitely very rare in the UK and in botanic gardens in general, outside its native habitat in the Amazon, so it's important to always go by the Latin name."