Little Darling' is statuesque cactus

FRESNO, Calif. — Rising in the front yard of a two-story southeast Fresno, Calif., home is a giant cactus — an estimated 32 feet tall — and seemingly with a mind of its own.

It sleeps during daylight. Then after sundown, during the month of May, it awakes to bloom white flowers.

The blooming period is short; the white flowers eventually give way to a pinkish/purplish fruit that is sweet.

"I call it, 'My Little Darling,'" says homeowner Norma Coronado, who planted the cactus in 1961 when, she says, it was a "baby," just several inches tall.

According to the gardening Web site finegardening.com, there are many cacti varieties with white flowers that bloom at night. The cacti often are classified under the generic term "night-blooming cereus."

Sue Haffner, president of the Fresno Cactus and Succulent Society, calls Coronado's cactus by its Latin name, Cereus peruvianus, also known as C. uruguayanus. It is a common cactus that grows especially in Southern California, Florida, the Caribbean and Mexico.

"It's not unusual to find that plant in local gardens, but to find one that size is remarkable," Haffner says. "It is unusual to have one that tall."

Larry Homan, chairman of the Fresno Cactus and Succulent Society's annual Home Tour, says there is an especially large montrose form of the cactus on Highway 580 near Hayward, Calif.

"It does bloom at night, which seems to fascinate people," Homan says in an e-mail.

Haffner says a number of cacti bloom at dusk for a simple reason: The plant is pollinated by night critters, usually moths and bats.

"They open at sundown and release a fragrance to attract a pollinator," she says.

Haffner says there isn't anything about Fresno that lends itself to the pollinating effort, including critter population.

"This plant probably is not particular; any moths or bats could do it," she says, adding that is not true of all cactus and succulents. "Some of the yuccas that we grow around here require a specific moth."

Coronado, 70, a widow and retired nurse's assistant who worked at Sierra Community Hospital on East Dakota Avenue, has vivid memories of finding My Little Darling.

She bought the plant for $1.49 at the old OK Market on East Kings Canyon Road near her home at 1065 S. Eighth St, just a couple of years after she moved into the home.