Selenicereus undatus

Selenicereus undatus, the white-fleshed pitahaya, is a species of the genus Selenicereus (formerly Hylocereus) 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, but the precise native origin of the species S. undatus is uncertain and never been resolved; it may be a hybrid. It is most frequently attributed to the island of Martinique in the West Indies
Description
Plant
Dragonfruit stems are scandent (climbing habit), 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 (horn-like) 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 (needle-like) to almost conical, and grayish 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 (tapering to a point), being long, wide and mucronate (ending in a short sharp point). 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 fourteen inches (35 centimeters). inner tepals are lanceolate (tapering to a point at the tip) to oblanceolate (i.e. more pointed at the base), up to long about wide at widest point, and mucronate, unbroken, sharp to acuminate (pointed), and white.
Stamens long, are declinate, inserted in one continuous zone from throat to above the pericarpel and cream. The style (bearing the stigma) 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 10 meters (32.8 feet) or more growing on rocks and trees.
Systematics
This species is closely related to S. ocamponis and S. escuintlensis. Selenicereus undatus was described by (Haw.) 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 Hylocereeae tribe (Korotkova, et al., 2017), therefore this species is consigned under the name Selenicereus undatus
Taxonomy
The species's epithet undatus in Latin means "wavy" from unda "wave", referring to the wavy edges of its branches' ribs.
Common names
Czech: Dračí ovoce
Dansk: Dragefrugt
English: pitahaya, dragon fruit, night blooming cereus, strawberry pear, Belle of the Night, Cinderella plant, Jesus in the cradle, moonflower
Estonian: maasik-metskaktus
Finnish:
French: pitaya, fruit du dragon, cierge-lézard, poire de chardon
German: Drachenfrucht, Distelbirne
Greek: Φρούτο του δράκου
Hawaiian: panini-o-ka-puna-hou ("Punahou cactus") – a famous specimen still grows at Punahou School
Japanese:
Korean: Yong-gwa (용과, 龍果, literal translation of dragon fruit),
Portuguese: pitaia, cato-barse, cardo-ananaz, rainha da noite
Spanish: pitahaya roja (Costa Rica, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela); flor de caliz, pitajava (Puerto Rico); junco, junco tapatio, pitahaya orejona, reina de la noche, tasajo (Mexico)
Swedish: skogskaktus, röd pitahaya
Vietnamese: thanh long
Thai: แก้วมังกร (kaeo mangkon)
Malay: buah naga. pronounce:boo-ah naa-gaa
Malayalam: വ്യാളീഫലം.
Italian: Pitahaya, Frutto del Drago
Bengali: ড্রাগন ফল (dragon fal)
Lithuanian:
Myanmar: နဂါးမောက်သီး
See also
Pitahaya
List of culinary fruits
References
External links
Dragon fruit plant grower's tips, greenhouse, flower and more
undatus
Cacti of Mexico
Tropical fruit
Desert fruits
Flora of Central America
Crops originating from Mexico
Crops originating from the Americas
Garden plants of North America
Drought-tolerant plants
Night-blooming plants
Epiphytes