Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR)

Hylocereus undatus
(Cactaceae)

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

image of Hylocereus undatus image of Hylocereus undatus image of Hylocereus undatus
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Species description or overview Taxonomy & nomenclature Impacts Control methods Images
Distribution Where to see this species Books Full-text articles  

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Hylocereus undatus is an epiphytic climbing cactus with 3-angled bright green stems to 15' long, 1.2-3" in diameter, and large, white, nocturnal, sweetly fragrant flowers.  Although fruit is rarely produced in Hawaii (because there is only one clone in Hawaii [or only a few]) and no pollinator for the flowers, the plants spread rampantly by vegetative means (Staples & Herbst 2005).  Hylocereus undatus is grown on all the inhabited Hawaiian Islands and is established on the dry leeward sides of at least Oahu and Kauai (Staples & Herbst 2005).  Hylocereus undatus is native to tropical America. 


Species description or overview

Hylocereus undatus information from PIER
Information on Hylocereus undatus as relevant to Pacific Islands is provided by the Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk project (PIER).

Hylocereus undatus information from NTBG
Information about Hylocereus undatus is available from the National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG).


Taxonomy & nomenclature

GRIN nomenclature info for Hylocereus undatus
Nomenclatural information about Hylocereus undatus is provided by USDA/ARS/NGRP/GRIN.

Hylocereus undatus information from the Smithsonian's Flora of the Hawaiian Islands
Information about Hylocereus undatus--including nomenclature and synonymy, and status and distribution in Hawaii--is provided by the "Flora of the Hawaiian Islands" website of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Links from this page include descriptive information about the species, as well as worldwide distributional information and general information about the genus.

Hylocereus undatus information from ITIS
The Integrated Taxonomic Information System ITIS provides authoritative taxonomic information on Hylocereus undatus, as well as other plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world.

IPNI nomenclature info for Hylocereus undatus
Nomenclatural information about Hylocereus undatus is provided by The International Plant Names Index (IPNI).


Impacts

Hylocereus undatus (Cactaceae): species information from GCW
Information on Hylocereus undatus as relevant to Pacific Islands is provided by the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).


Control methods

Herbicidal weed control methods for pastures and natural areas of Hawaii View info about Adobe Acrobat PDF format
This comprehensive review of herbicide application methods includes calculations for formulations, and appendices listing herbicides registered for use in Hawaii and their toxicities (University of Hawaii, 2002).


Images

Images of Hylocereus undatus (Cactaceae) (night-blooming cereus, paniniokapunahoa, papipi pua)
Links to high-resolution free images of Hylocereus undatus (Cactaceae) (night-blooming cereus, paniniokapunahoa, papipi pua) by Forest & Kim Starr (USGS) are available here.

Hylocereus undatus information from the Smithsonian Flora of the Hawaiian Islands
Information about Hylocereus undatus in Hawaii is available from the Smithsonian Flora of the Hawaiian Islands.

Hylocereus undatus images from PIER
Images of Hylocereus undatus provided by the Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk project (PIER).


Distribution

Hylocereus undatus information from the Smithsonian Flora of the Hawaiian Islands
Information about Hylocereus undatus in Hawaii is available from the Smithsonian Flora of the Hawaiian Islands.

Hylocereus undatus information from the Smithsonian's Flora of the Hawaiian Islands
Information about Hylocereus undatus--including nomenclature and synonymy, and status and distribution in Hawaii--is provided by the "Flora of the Hawaiian Islands" website of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Links from this page include descriptive information about the species, as well as worldwide distributional information and general information about the genus.


Where to see this species

Kahoolawe (Kanaloa): natural areas of Hawaii
Forest and Kim Starr provide information about the island of Kahoolawe as a natural area in Hawaii. Links to additional resources are provided, as well as links to images of plant species found on Kahoolawe.


Books

A field guide to tropical and subtropical plants
Perry, Frances and Roy Hay. 1982. A field guide to tropical and subtropical plants. Ward Lock Limited, Great Britain. 136 pp. illus. ISBN: 0-442-26859-9.


Full-text articles

Alien plant invasions in native ecosystems of Hawaii: Management and research
Stone, Charles P., Clifford W. Smith, and J. Timothy Tunison (eds.) . 1992. Alien plant invasions in native ecosystems of Hawaii: Management and research. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit. ISBN: 0-8248-1474-6.

Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands: an illustrated field guide to the native, naturalized or commonly cultivated vines and lianas of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Acevedo-Rodriguez, Pedro. 2005. Vines and Climbing Plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands: an illustrated field guide to the native, naturalized or commonly cultivated vines and lianas of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Illustrated by Bobbi Angell. 483 pages.

Control of non-native plants in natural areas of Florida
Langeland, K.A. and R.L. Stocker. (1997-)2001. Control of non-native plants in natural areas of Florida. SP 242, one of a series of the Department of Agronomy, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. First printed: 1997. Revised: April, 2001.

Annotated Checklist of the Vascular Plants on Midway Atoll, Hawaii.
Starr, F., K. Starr, and Loope L. 2006. Annotated Checklist of the Vascular Plants on Midway Atoll, Hawaii. An addendum to the 1999 Botanical Survey of Midway Atoll.

Botanical survey of Midway Atoll
Starr, F. and K. Martz. 1999. Botanical survey of Midway Atoll. In: 1995-1999 Baseline Surveys for Alien Species in Marine and Terrestrial Habitats on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Honolulu, Hawaii.


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The Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk (HEAR) project was historically funded by the Pacific Basin Information Node (PBIN) of the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) through PIERC (USGS) with support from HCSU (UH Hilo). More details are available online. Pacific Basin Information Node (PBIN) National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII)

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