Thursday, 9 July 2015

Brahma Kamal Queen of the Night

Brahma Kamal ब्रह्म कमल 

Four years on dot.
Nature's magical calendar.
July 2015 to July 2019.
Full moon night and Brahma Kamal has bloomed again!

Ghumakkad is not repeating the earlier story. We have added four pictures taken today in our garden to highlight the magic of Brahma Kamal. It flowers once in a year and that too at night! How does it synchronise the blooming to a full moon night give or take a day? Read on.




End of postscript dated 16th July 2019.
___________________________________ 

The original story posted four years ago in July 2015.



A unique flower of the orchid cactus family which blooms at night.
Peculiarities of this flower shot in our garden in Secunderabad, India during July-- the monsoon month are as follows:
  • Plant has long leaves, 12 to 24 inches long and about two inches wide with few longitudinal projections. Best planted in area getting filtered sunlight.

  • Buds sprout from the edge of the leaves.

Tall slender leaves can be cut and planted in water to take root and then shifted to a pot.
  • Buds take 7 days or so to grow and bloom.
  • Blooming takes place in dark hours at night.
  • The bloom lasts only one night.
  • The lotus like petals open up fully around midnight and then fold up around sunrise. The flowers appear like a cross between multiple layers of petals as in a rose and conical shaped buds and flower as in a lotus.






  • After blooming, the retracted buds hang lifelessly and wither away.


  • Maximum number of blooms occur around full moon पूरणमाशी 
  • Pollination is done by bats and moths which are attracted by the aroma of the flower.
Enjoy the beauty of Brahma Kamal from close range.
It is a native of Himalayas as well as Sri Lanka where it is called 'kaduphul'. It also grows in other parts of India. It is considered auspicious for the house where it grows.
Part of above research is by observation in our garden and the rest came from Indian Botanists site. Its botanical name is Epiphyllum oxypetallum.

Parting shot of a Brahma Kamal.



Thanks for browsing.

    Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 9th July 2015

17 comments:

  1. Beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Sir
      Happy to hear about the Bahama kamal I saw it first time
      Thanks for a spreading the kind of knowledge.

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    2. Appreciate your feedback, thanks.

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  2. Beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Beautifully documented. Thanks, Harsh

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  4. Wish we could see it in your garden while we were at Swarnandhra Sir.

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  5. Lovely. In our complex garden also we had flowers which bloomed at night & close at daytime everyday. It is surprising Harsh, how in Mumbai climate which is not conducing for flowering, dedicated enthusiast like you can grow variety of flowers at our Garden. I wish I am a photographer like you. Cheers!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks much Vinod. Admire your power of observation and love for Nature!

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  6. Wow! The Brahma Kamal is so pristine

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  7. Harsh Sir, you are tendering some exotic flowers.Thank you for sharing the beautiful pics of Brahma kamal.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks much. We have a small yard. You are welcome to visit it anytime.

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  8. such an informative and well-documented picture story of the Brahma Kamal and how it flowers synchronised with the full moon! Thank you for the beautiful flowers, Harsh ! Trixie Asirvatham

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    Replies
    1. Thanks much Trixie. Appreciate your encouragement.

      Delete