Hylocereus undatus (Haw.) Britton & Rose, Cactaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Cereus undatus Haw.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: liang tian chi

English: belle of the night, dragon fruit, moonlight cactus, night-blooming cereus, 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, 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. (2013) Cultivée
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Ua Huka (Huahuna, Uahuka) Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2013)
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. (2013) 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
Australia Australia (continental)	New South Wales	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced invasive cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013) 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 Island	Taiwan Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013) 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"
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced	Invasive Species Specialist Group (2017)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized

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

Control:  If you know of control methods for Hylocereus undatus, please let us know.