Greene, I had that thought, too. I have checked twice, the first time ~11:00p and the second around midnight. They looked exactly the same at night as during the day. Now that I'm researching this genus, I have not seen any indication that any of the Triphora species are night-blooming, certainly a significant fact.
However the reason I've missed the blooms may still be in the bloom pattern.
T. trianthophora, also found in Florida, though not this far south, blooms synchronously, with all members of a colony blooming the same morning. The flowers are short lived, and the colony may not bloom again for another 1-2 weeks. T. craigheadii, the only Triphora species other than T. gentianoides reported from Collier County, is said to synchronize it's blooming similar to T. trianthophora.
If T. gentianoides follows a similar pattern, I have one shot, in the morning, every one to two weeks to catch the plants in bloom. If it happens to be on a day I work, I've missed out until the next bloom cycle.
I admit I figured since I could see multiple buds that appeared ready to bloom within the group, an occasional glance should be all that's necessary to see them in bloom. It never occurred to me my window of opportunity was once every week or two, and only for a few hours at the beginning of the day,
At least now I have an idea what I'm up against.
