Why do flowers of Raat Ki Rani bloom only at night?

               Many animals and creatures rest during the day but become active at night. Similarly there are many plants which bloom at night only. Such plants are called night blooming plants. The flowers of Raat Ki Rani (Queen of the Night) also fall in the same category. Many night flowering plants belong to the honeysuckle and nightshade families. Do you know why do flowers of Queen of the Night bloom at night only? It is quite often in the case of night flowering plants that they resort to the use of scent, thereby attracting high-flying insects and moths.

               When these insects sit on the flower, a few pollen grains get stuck to their tiny feet and wings. When the same insects go to other flowers of the same variety, the pollen grains are deposited on the flower. This process helps pollination, without which a flower cannot mature into a fruit. Thus we can say that flowers of the Queen of the Night bloom at night to attract those insects which help the process of pollination. Flowers produce fruits and fruits produce seeds. The seeds are responsible for producing new plants.

               Most of the flowers blooming at night are those which cannot bear high temperature and light of the day time. Flowers of Raat Ki Rani also avoid extremes of temperature and daylight by blooming at night.

               There is one more fact about the night blooming flowers. Such flowers do not have attractive and pleasing colours as these colours are not visible in the darkness of night. Most of the night blooming flowers are white because this colour is easily visible in the darkness of night and quite effective in attracting the insects for pollination. In fact, all white or cream coloured flowers such as night-scented stock are pollinated by night-flying moths which are attracted by strong perfumes of the flowers.

               Thus we see that flowers of Raat Ki Rani are not capable of withstanding day temperature, usually white in colour and have a delicious fragrance with which they attract insects.