Margaret Mee who died in 1988 made dozens of highly accurate paintings of flowers in the tropical forests of Brasil. A year earlier she had told Tony how her greatest ambition was to paint a night flowering cactus Selenicereus wittii as it opened in the Amazon forest. Tony with the help of friends in Brasil took Margaret .who was then 78 to the cactus when it was expected to bloom.This clip from the beginning of the search comes from a tape made as a 'pilot' for a project left unfinished when Margaret died. Here Margaret is on the roof of a boat and matching the true colours of the plant.

Project directed by Tony Morrison; Arranged by Gilberto Castro [Manaus]; Camera - Brian Sewell, [Rio de Janeiro]; Production manager Sue Loram [Rio de Janeiro] who acted as Margaret Mee's aide throughout.

For more info about the video — [video + audio from her final journey [on the menu - left].

© South American Pictures / Nonesuch Expeditions

The story and painting of the 'Moonflower' appeared for the first time in its original form in the now classic book Margaret Mee, In Search of Flowers of the Amazon Forests, 1988 — published by Nonesuch Expeditions [Margaret Mee's books— on the menu - left].