SARASOTA, Fla. - Hundreds of people came out to Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota on Thursday night to watch a bloom that only happens once a year.

When the sun goes down, the "Queen of the Night" blooms.

The "Queen of the Night", also known as Selenicereus pteranthus , is a night-flowering cactus.

"Selenicereus, Selene, was the Greek Goddess of the moon," Mike McLaughlin, Selby Gardens' Senior VP of Horticulture said.

On Thursday night, Selby Gardens held a viewing party for people to watch the cactus bloom.

What they're saying:

"It flowers at night to attract a certain kind of pollinator in its native habitat of the Caribbean and Mexico," McLaughlin said. "So, the things that pollinate this, we don't have here in Florida. But they would be leaf-nosed bats or hawk moth

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