Selenicereus undatus


Selenicereus undatus, the white-fleshed pitahaya, is a species of the genus Selenicereus in the family Cactaceae and is the most cultivated species in the genus. It is used both as an ornamental vine and as a fruit crop, the pitahaya or dragon fruit.
Like all true cacti, the genus originates in the Americas. S. undatus is native from Mexico to Honduras; it may be a hybrid.

Description

Plant

The stems are scandent, creeping, sprawling or clambering, and branch profusely. There can be four to seven of them, between or longer, with joints from or longer, and thick; with generally three ribs; margins are corneous with age, and undulate.
Areoles, that is, the small area bearing spines or hairs on a cactus, are across with internodes. Spines on the adult branches are long, being acicular to almost conical, and greyish brown to black in colour and spreading, with a deep green epidermis.

Flowers

The scented, nocturnal flowers are long, wide with the pericarpel long, about thick, bracteoles ovate, acute, to 2.5 to less than long; receptacle about thick, bracteoles are linear-lanceolate, long; outer tepals lanceolate-linear to linear, acuminate, being long, wide and mucronate. Their colour is greenish-yellow or whitish, rarely rose-tinged; these outer tepals, or sepals, are about 65 in number, and bring the flower to a total width of up to. The inner tepals are lanceolate to oblanceolate, up to long about wide at widest point, and mucronate, unbroken, sharp to acuminate, and white.
Stamens long, are declinate, inserted in one continuous zone from throat to above the pericarpel and cream. The style to 17, they are long, stout, thick, cream, and up to 26 stigma lobes, they can be whole or sometimes split at the top, cream, about long. Nectar chambers are long.

Fruit

The fruit is oblong to oval, long, thick, red with large bracteoles, with white, or more uncommonly, pink pulp and edible black seeds.

Habitat

Selenicereus undatus is lithophytic or hemiepiphytic. It is widely distributed through the tropics in cultivation. It is a sprawling or vining, terrestrial or epiphytic cactus. They climb by use of aerial roots and can reach a height of or more growing on rocks and trees.

Systematics

This species is closely related to S. ocamponis and S. escuintlensis. Selenicereus undatus was described by Britton & Rose and published in Flora of Bermuda 256. 1918. In 2017, D. R. Hunt groups the genus Hylocereus within the genus Selenicereus. This has been supported by a phylogenetic analysis of the tribe Hylocereeae, therefore this species is now treated under the name ''Selenicereus undatus''

Taxonomy

The species epithet undatus in Latin means "wavy" from unda "wave", referring to the wavy edges of its branch ribs.

Common names

  • English: pitahaya, dragon fruit, night blooming cereus, strawberry pear, Belle of the Night, Cinderella plant, Jesus in the cradle, moonflower
  • Finnish: italic=no
  • French: pitaya, fruit du dragon, cierge-lézard, poire de chardon
  • German: Drachenfrucht, Distelbirne
  • Greek: Φρούτο του δράκου
  • Hawaiian: panini-o-ka-puna-hou – a famous specimen still grows at Punahou School
  • Japanese: pitaya, dragon fruit,
  • Korean: Yong-gwa,
  • Portuguese: pitaia, cato-barse, cardo-ananaz, rainha da noite
  • Spanish: pitahaya roja ; flor de caliz, pitajava ; junco, junco tapatio, pitahaya orejona, reina de la noche, tasajo
  • Swedish: skogskaktus, röd pitahaya
  • Vietnamese: thanh long
  • Thai: แก้วมังกร
  • Malay: buah naga. pronounce:boo-ah naa-gaa
  • Malayalam: വ്യാളീഫലം.
  • p=huǒlóngguǒ
  • Italian: Pitahaya, Frutto del Drago
  • Bengali: ড্রাগন ফল
  • Lithuanian:
  • Myanmar: နဂါးမောက်သီး