I have been impatiently waiting all Summer for this! Last evening I saw that a bud would be opening the next day and was doing the 'Happy Dance". I wasn't disappointed in the slightest when I got up this morning. You can see how the "fringe" changes every few minutes going from very spread out to compact.

** UPDATE FOR THOSE JUST TUNING IN .. IT'S A NIGHT BLOOMER! **

My only complaint is that it's exceedingly ephemeral. It went from fully open to closed in less than an hour. The next time I see a bud that will be opening the next day I will certainly be getting up a whole lot earlier! I'd like to capture the whole process.

How wonderful! I've only seen mine bloom once last year and I have missed them all this year.

They are stunning! It's difficult to find any real botanical information about this plant because of it's medicinal properties. I've had a number of sites give conflicting information as to its hardiness. Some say Zone 8 and others say Zone 9. The plant is most definitely a food hog. Mine wasn't growing much at the beginning and took off like a rocket once it got fed regularly.

I just wish it would stay open longer.

I'm zone 7, just barely, and did not expect it to return this year, but there it is, right where it was last year. I have not decided whether it is the original plant I started from seed last year, or a self sown individual, but it is welcome nonetheless. The foliage is pretty enough to grow without those stunning flowers.

I bought the seeds from Horizon Herbs and the package said plant them all because of irregular germination and they weren't kidding. Out of 5 seeds only 1 germinated. Once mine starts producing male flowers I'll be hand pollinating every female flower that appears in hopes of upping the numbers of viable seeds .. thankfully cucumber pollen stays viable for days if stored correctly and will be collecting every grain of pollen I can get.

That's nice to know it's hardy in Zone 7 so hopefully it will be hardy in my Zone 8.

I can only see an enticing glimpse of the pretty foliage. Does anyone have a picture of the whole plant?

Those blooms are really neat!

I'm waiting until I have a few open blooms before I submit a whole plant pix to the Plant Database .. but here are pix of the whole plant and leaves.

Thank you! I like it!

It's a night bloomer!!!! I'll post night pictures soon!

Ack! Looks like I might be staying up all night!

It keeps getting better and better! Butterfly included! Anyone know the species? I've uploaded a 20 meg picture so you can get close and you can clearly see the Butterfly drinking the nectar!

http://www.xeramtheum.com/Tric...

This flower looks like some kind of alien! I almost expect the fringe to grab my face (furtively looking around for Stephen King or Ripley) ... AND it has an awesome lemony fragrance!

Never seen anything like this before - fascinating! Look at that "crazy hair" on that thing!

Wonderful pictures, too! WOW!

Love, love the photo with the moth!

Think I found an ID on the moth, Stemorrhages costata.

X, am enjoying this thread very much as you unravel so many charms of such a majestic vine.

I have always been fascinated by bearded flowers. Evidently, in addition to breeding exotic morning glories, and some reminiscent of dianthus, the Japanese also bred bearded dianthus - http://sherwoodgreenhouses.squ... .

Can't find an old Japanese woodcut right now, so above link will have to do.

Thanks! So 'bearded' is the proper word for the fringe? And I really like that dianthus!

X, I'm not sure what word properly describes the petal edges of Trichosanthes kirilowii.

In Plant Identification Terminology" by James G. Harris et al, the word 'bearded' is defined as "bearing one or more tufts of long hairs" under a line drawing which appears to be something like a penstemon, which is a genus sometimes referred to as 'Beardtongue' (Think also of bearded iris).

'Bearded' is also an adjective used by vendors for the above linked dianthus, and in this case petal-edge "hairs" much longer than those of penstemon and iris are referenced.

The multiple, shredded petals in some cultivars of Ipomoea purpurea have been said to resemble a beard, which can be loosely translated from Japanese as "hige." (This is simplified and probably can be better explained by others.)

So, given the wide disparity in what 'bearded' can mean with respect to flowers, I don't know whether this would be a term specifically applied to Trichosanthes kirilowii, or not.

I wonder how interchangeable 'bearded' might be with other words like 'fringed' (think Lagenaria siceraria or Silene polypetala or Shortia soldanelloides) or 'laciniated' (think dahlias)?

I seem to have rambled a bit - Aren't you glad I didn't bring up 'nostril hairs'? Hope I said something useful.

Thanks for the long explanation .. learned some things I didn't know about! I did know about hige .. since I grow a lot of MG's but I always associated 'bearded' to plants like iris with 'tongue' like petals. Fringe came to mind with the kirilowii merely because it looks like fringe - and I've grown a number of "shredded" brugmansia.

I'm trying to imagine what kinds of evolutional pressures created the incredibly long "fringe" on the petals. Hope a male flower opens soon .. I'm wondering if it will have the "fringe" as well.

Lovely flower on this plant.