Kaka di pushi [Cat’s kak]
by Carel de Haseth / Curaçao
The flower of the Opuntania curassavica (Papiamentu: kaka di pushi) is extremely rare. Very few people ever saw a flower. Known mention of flowering goes back to the thirties and fifties and one was recorded at the botanical garden in Kew.
Years ago I took a plant out of the mondi [local wilderness] and hoped to see a flower. Years went by without a flower until, finally, more than a year ago there was a flower, followed by two more.
This year it flowered again. And again. But now … it has nore than 15 buds of which today the first one opened. The budd opens within an hour or so and the flower lasts one day. The next day its colour becomes pinkish and the flower dies.
Background information, in Dutch, read this article by De Haseth
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