PHOTO OF THE WEEK, WITH A CHARCOAL FILTER

March 17, 2012 (La Mesa) -- Mayan Avitable, our assistant editor, took this photo around midnight last week as a cutting she had taken from a neighbor's plant generated this amazing bloom. The flower opened, filled the room with a fabulous aroma, and by morning was gone.

This flower is commonly called a Night Blooming Cereus. This particular plant is scientifically named Epiphyllum oxypetalum. Night Blooming Cereus refers to a large number of flowering Cereus cacti that bloom at night, and have flowers that do not live long. Some of these species, such as Selenicereus grandiflorus, bloom only once a year, for a single night.