Hylocereus undatus (Haw.) Britton & Rose, Cactaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: liang tian chi

English: belle of the night, dragon fruit, night-blooming cereus, pitahaya, queen of the night, red pitaya, strawberry pear

French: belle de nuit, pitahaya rouge, pitaya, raquette tortue

Hawaiian: pāniniokapunahou, pāpipi pua

Spanish: chacam, chak-wob, junco tapatío, pitahaya dulce, pitahaya orejona, reina de la noche, zacamb

Habit:  succulent

Description:  "Sprawling terrestrial or epiphytic vines; stems 3-winged, the wings 2-3 cm wide, thin, crenate with calloused margins.  Areoles with 1-4 conical spines 1-3 mm long.  Flowers nocturnal, 25-30 cm long, 15-25 cm in diameter; sepaloid perianth parts greenish white, linear to linear-lanceolate, 10-15 cm long, 1-1.5 cm wide, inner perianth parts white, oblanceolate, 10-15 cm long, ca 2.5 cm wide; staminal filaments cream-colored; style cream-colored, 17.5-20 cm long; stigma lobes up to 24, cream-colored.  Berries red, fleshy, splitting, oblong, 5-12.5 cm long, 4-9 cm in diameter."  (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 418-419)

"Climbing or scrambling succulent plant to at least 10 m high on trees.  Stems triangular, jointed.  Margins scalloped, becoming horny.  Areoles c. 4 cm apart; areolar spines to 4 mm long" (Sykes, 1970; p. 53).

Habitat/ecology:  Tropics.  Commonly introduced as an ornamental and for its fruits but can naturalize.  Pollinated by bats in its native Mexico.  In Hawai‘i, "widely cultivated..., rarely setting fruit, but spreading, often extensively, vegetatively"  (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 418-419). In New Caledonia, "est commune, vigoureuse et parfois spontanée" (MacKee, 1994; p. 25).

Propagation:  Seed, cuttings, pieces.

Native range:  "Not known, but it is widespread throughout tropical America and was distributed from there to other parts of the world.  Native Americans likely transported the species throughout the inhabited regions of the Americas before the arrival of Europeans, making it hard to establish the place of wild origin"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 213).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive cultivated	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced cultivated	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (pp. 486, 532, 554) "En RC, está presente en único jardine del pueblo de San Juan Bautista.  No es cierto que el clima le conviene muy bien, pero este cactus debe ser vigilado muy de cerca".
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	cultivated	Sykes, Bill (year unknown)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J. (2004) (p. 93)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Ua Huka (Huahuna, Uahuka) Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2008)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Ua Huka (Huahuna, Uahuka) Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (2003) (voucher ID: PTBG 40935) Taxon name on voucher: Hylocereus undatus
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J. (2004) (p. 93)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 418-419)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaho‘olawe Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 418-419)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 418-419)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 418-419)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 418-419)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 418-419)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Ni‘ihau Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 418-419)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 418-419)
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced cultivated	Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. (1994) (p. 110)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 25) Vouchers cited: Guillaumin & Baumann 7103, MacKee 25130
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced	Sykes, W. R. (1970) (p. 53) Voucher cited: CHR 168865
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2000) (p. 24)
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara M./Newfield, Melanie/Bull, Cate (2004) (p. 11)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced cultivated	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 129) Occasionally palnted for ornamental purposes.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced invasive cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Trees, rocks, maritime scrub; sea level to 300 m. S. Fujian, S. Guangdong, S.W. Guangxi, Hainan.
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 75)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 50) Cultivated only
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Trees, rocks, maritime scrub; sea level to 300 m.

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Lavergne, Christophe (2006) "Cultivé/naturalisé"

Comments:  Both cultivated and wild specimens on Niue (Space & Flynn, 2000).

Additional information:
Information from the Purdue University NewCROP web site.

Additional online information about Hylocereus undatus is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Hylocereus undatus as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Hylocereus undatus may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido. 2006. Nouveau catalogue de la flore vaculaire de l'archipel Juan Fernández (Chile) [Nuevo catálogo de la flora vacular del Archipélago Juan Fernández (Chile)]. Acta Bot. Gallica 153(4):399-587.

Florence, J. 2004. Flore de la Polynésie française, Vol. 2. Paris. IRE Editions, Publications Scientifiques, Collection Faune et Flore Tropicales 41. 503 pp.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Lavergne, Christophe. 2006. List des especes exotiques envahissantes a La Reunion. Unpublished manuscript (Excel file). .

Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. 2008. Flora of the Marquesas Islands. National Tropical Botanical Garden and the Smithsonian Institution. Online database.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Merrill, Elmer D. 1923. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 3 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 628 pp.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2000. Report to the Government of Niue on invasive plant species of environmental concern.  USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 34 pp.

Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara M./Newfield, Melanie/Bull, Cate. 2004. Report to the Government of Niue and the United Nations Development Programme: Invasive plant species on Niue following Cyclone Heta. UNDP NIU/98/G31 - Niue Enabling Activity. 80 pp.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2005. A tropical garden flora: plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 908 pp.

Sykes, Bill. 0. Bill Sykes, pers. com.

Sykes, W. R. 1970. Contributions to the flora of Niue. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin 200, Wellington. 321 pp.

Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. 1994. The flora of Nauru. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. Atoll Research Bulletin 392:1-223.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Wu, Te-lin. 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised). 384 pp.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).