Can You Identify These Night-Blooming Flowers?

Once known as Polianthes tuberosa, tuberose flowers are now known to scientists as Agave amica. Native to Mexico, these plants consist of stems that rise up to 4 feet tall, with tubular white night blooms rising into the sky. They are so fragrant that they have been used to make perfumes since the 17th century, and Marie Antoinette herself wore a scent made from tuberose.

Despite its name, the catchfly shown here has little in common with the Venus flytrap. Known to scientists as Silene nutans, the catchfly plant can grow 30 inches tall or more. It produces long, fuzzy leaves and lots of tiny flowers that can range from pale pink to pure white. Each catchfly blooms for up to three nights, showcasing an additional stamen with each bloom to encourage pollination.

This quote comes from the classic flick "Casablanca," which is named for the same Moroccan city that gives the Casablanca lily its name. Often used in weddings, this bloom can be as large as 10 inches with a funnel-like shape. The flowers are white with red stamen and are known for their characteristic sweet scent.

Berlandiera lyrata, also known as the chocolate flower or chocolate daisy, takes its name from its brown stamen and chocolatey scent. It blooms each night throughout the summer, or year-round in tropical areas, and produces small yellow petals that contrast with the brown bud of stamens they encircle.

From its glossy thick leaves to its luscious fragrance to its magnificent flowers, the magnolia tree is a true treat for the senses. Growing 50 to 100 feet tall, this tree produces large white flowers with velvety soft leaves. It reproduces via seed pods the size of pine cones, which start off covered in green fuzz before pushing out dozens of bright red seeds as the pod turns from green to brown.

The seven species belonging to the Brugmansia genus are commonly known as angel's trumpet. Despite this moniker, every part of these plants is toxic. Largely extinct in the wild, some gardeners grow angel's trumpet for its beautiful trumpet-shaped blooms, which can be 20 inches long or more and range from white to deep red in color.

Gladiolus tristis, or night gladiolus, blooms by night and wilts or closes during the day. Its flowers grow atop a tall, fine spike, and the blooms themselves can be white, cream, red or purple depending on the species.

Honeysuckle vines produce large numbers of two-lipped flowers in shades of white and pale yellow. While the popular Graham Thomas variety is one of the most aromatic, all varieties of honeysuckle release a greater degree of fragrance at night than during the day in order to attract pollinators.

Also called moon vine, the moonflower is so-named not only because it blooms at night, but also because it takes on the round shape of the full moon when its petals are fully open. Ranging from 3 to 5 inches in diameter, this delicate blossom can be white or pink. While native to tropical and subtropical countries, it's now grown by gardeners around the world.

Mirabilis jalapa blooms in the late afternoon or evening, earning it the nickname four o'clock. The plant itself is a small shrub growing 2 to 3 feet tall, while its trumpet-shaped blossoms range from pink to yellow to white.

The Nicotiana plant's flowers resemble petunias and come in shades ranging from white to pink to deep red or pale green. By night, they reveal their blooms and release a powerful fragrance that pollinators love.

Tiarella or foamflower features cone-shaped sprays of white or pink flowers atop tall spikes or spines. With a delicate construction like a dandelion, all it takes is a strong wind to send this plant's petals scattering. Gardening novices may be enticed by the ease of growing this plant, which is naturally resistant to many pests.

Nymphaea antares, also known simply as antares, is a night-blooming plant that grows on the surface of ponds and other still waters. It consists of a leaf the size of a pizza, from which grows a bright red flower measuring 7 to 8 inches across. The bloom emerges each night, then closes before the sun comes up the next morning.

The Queen of the Night, or the Dutchman's pipe cactus, is a spectacular flower native to southern Mexico. Its scalloped green leaves contrast perfectly with its brilliant white blossom, which is shaped like a funnel and can be 10 inches long or more the few nights a year that its petals finally decide to unfurl.

So-named because its flowers look so much like citrus blossoms, mock orange is a shrub that can range from a few feet to more than 20 feet tall. It blooms in the evenings for a few weeks at a time, producing white four-petaled flowers up to 2 inches in diameter.

Cereus repandus, affectionately known as the Peruvian apple cactus, is a massive member of the cactus family. While its body ranges from gray-green to blue-green, its night-blooming flowers are a soft shade of cream when they bloom at night to attract pollinating bats.

Night-blooming jasmine, or jessamine, is a shrub with long, glossy green leaves and impressive height. Its fragrant flowers unfurl with the moon, revealing small star-shaped blossoms of white or pale green.

A tubular succulent with very long, fine spines, the Easter lily cactus produces some impressive blooms when the sun goes down. The flowers on this plant are funnel-shaped, can vary from white to pink in color and can be 5 inches or more in diameter.

The Datura genus includes nine plant species, all of which are night-bloomers and all of which are so poisonous they would put Snow White's apple to shame. Measuring up to 6 feet tall, Datura plants produce night-blooming funnel-shaped flowers in shades like white, pink, purple or yellow.

Native to the Caribbean, the common yucca plant can now be found all over the world. Its stiff, spiky leaves conceal a central stem that can be up to 8 feet long. Tiny white flowers bloom from this stem by night, then droop or wilt as the sun rises.

The roots of garden heliotrope, or Valeriana officinalis, are often ground into a powder and used in herbal sleep remedies. While herbal sleep users are busy dozing, however, this plant is busy blooming, producing clusters of pink and white trumped-shaped flowers.

Plectranthus argentatus, or silver spurflower, takes its name from its leaves, which are covered in fine silvery hairs that make the plant look more silver than green from a distance. Its small tubular flowers emerge at night, displaying petals in shades of blue, white or mauve.

Evening stock, or Matthiola longipetala, grows 18 to 24 inches tall and produces purple and white flowers between one-half and one-inch wide. These four-petaled blossoms emerge at night, emitting a sweet-yet-spicy fragrance, only to wilt, droop or die off as the sun comes up.

The four petals of this bloom open by night and close by day, earning it the name evening primrose. While most are yellow, others come in shades of pink or cream. Native to the eastern half of North America, evening primrose often produces a refreshing lemony scent, and its stem is covered in fine hairs.

Night-blooming cereus refers to any member of a genus of stiff, upright, tubular cacti. These plants can grow in excess of 40 feet tall and produce white or cream flowers that bloom by night and wilt by day.

Visitors to the Hawaiian islands are traditionally greeted with flowered necklaces made from fragrant, colorful flowers known as plumeria. Pollinated by moths, these flowers bloom at night, revealing blossoms in gorgeous shades like pink, yellow, purple and cream.

This five-petaled night-bloomer is the common quince, which grows in white, pink or peach colored bunches on evergreen shrubs or small trees. These plants also produce a fruit that's very similar to the apple and can be found primarily in Asia and Australia.

Amorphophallus titanum has been dubbed the corpse flower because when it blooms it releases a scent reminiscent of a dead body. The good news is that this Sumatra native generally only blooms for a day or two, and it takes at least 7 to 10 years of growing time before it showcases its maroon or burgundy bloom.

Sure, the night-blooming hibiscus produces some enticing red blossoms, but that's not all that this tropical plant has to offer. Its jagged-edged leaves are a rare purple-red hue, which contrasts well with the standard green found on most garden species.

So-named because a good spring or summer rain often brings out their blooms, rain lilies are popular ornamental plants in mild and temperate parts of the world. Also known as rainflowers, these plants feature funnel-shaped blossoms in shades like white, pink and yellow.

Known to scientists as Murraya koenigii, the curry leaf tree is an Indian native that grows between 12 and 20 feet tall on average. It produces large numbers of small white blooms, but it's the leaves of this plant that are used all over the world to add bold flavor to food.

A member of the mustard family, night-scented gilliflower has a sweet scent that gets much stronger as the sun sets. It grows up to 3 feet tall and produces many small colorful flowers along with long leaves that can be used in salad mixes.

Native to Borneo and Sumatra, the Durio family includes 30 species of trees that can grow 150 feet tall or more. The flowers on these trees bloom at night to welcome bat pollinators and have a smell that's more sour than sweet. Durian fruit, which some consider a delicacy, has a smell that's nothing like apples or oranges and is so potent that the fruit has been banned in some areas.

The common lilac grows on shrubs ranging from 4 to 15 feet high. In addition to its sweet-smelling panicles of tiny flowers, this plant features heart-shaped leaves in deep shades of green.

The subtropical pitaya is part of the cactus family and produces a spiky red fruit known as the dragon fruit. This climbing plant blooms just once, producing a flower with long white or yellow petals as day turns to night. Once the flower has wilted, the pitaya plant releases its sweet red fruit, which is filled with small black seeds like those found in a kiwi.

The deep green leaves of the night-scented orchid have a leathery texture, but its long, narrow flower petals are much more delicate. These greenish-yellow blossoms unfurl at night, producing an intoxicating smell that pollinators can't resist.

Saussurea obvallata plays an important role in the Hindu culture and is commonly known as Brahma kamal in honor of the Hindu god of creation. It blooms high in the mountains of the Himalayas during late summer, with yellow-green paper-like wrappings opening to reveal the large white flower hiding inside.

The U.S. Forest Service calls the blazing star "nature's Velcro" because of the way the long yellow petals and stamen of this bloom tend to get tangled in everything they touch. The plant itself looks like a weed, but it only takes one look at its bright yellow flowers to understand where it got its name.

The daylily is so-named not because it blooms during the day, but because it tends to burst into bloom for just a single day before wilting and dying. It makes the ideal garden plant because of its ruffled petals and endless varieties, which can range from pink to peach, gold, lavender and even bi-color cultivars.

Night phlox has earned the nickname midnight candy because it blooms at night to show off starry white flowers and release a sweet honey-vanilla scent. Native to South Africa, this hearty species is now prized by gardeners all over the world, who use it to add color and fragrance to moon gardens.