Hylocereus

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Hylocereus

Hylocereus is a genus

Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
of cacti

Cactus

A cactus is any member of the spine plant family Cactaceae, native to the Americas. They are often used as ornamental plants, but some are also Crop plants....
, often referred to as nightblooming cactus

Nightblooming cactus

The term nightblooming cactus refers to either of these two cactus genus:*Hylocereus*Selenicereus, or moonlight cactusSee also nightblooming cereus....
(though the term is also used for the genus Selenicereus). Several species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
have large edible fruit

Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. In botany, which is the scientific study of plants, fruits are the ripened Ovary of flowering plants....
s, which are known as pitaya

Pitaya

A pitaya or pitahaya is the fruit of several cactus species, most importantly of the genus Hylocereus . These fruit are commonly known as dragon fruit – cf....
or dragonfruits.

fficult genus with poorly understood species, due to their wide range and variability.

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Encyclopedia

Hylocereus is a genus

Genus

Cactus

Nightblooming cactus

Species

Fruit

Pitaya

A pitaya or pitahaya is the fruit of several cactus species, most importantly of the genus Hylocereus . These fruit are commonly known as dragon fruit – cf....
or dragonfruits.

Taxonomy

A difficult genus with poorly understood species, due to their wide range and variability. Closely related to Selenicereus. The genus Wilmattea Britton

Nathaniel Lord Britton

Nathaniel Lord Britton was a USA botanist and taxonomist who founded the New York Botanical Garden in The Bronx , New York. Britton was born in New Dorp in Staten Island, New York....
& Rose

Joseph Nelson Rose

Joseph Nelson Rose was an USA botanist. He was born in Union County, Indiana. His father died serving during the Civil War when Joseph Rose was a young boy....
has been brought into synonymy with Hylocereus. Besides, some would include Hylocereus in the genus Selenicereus.

Summary of the species

Hylocereus calcaratus - Costa Rica. Stems soft, green with distinctly lobed stems. Flowers 35-37 cm long, 20-30 cm wide.
Hylocereus costaricensis
Hylocereus costaricensis

Hylocereus costaricensis is a cactus species native to Central America and northwestern South America. The species is grown commercially for its fruit, but is also an impressive ornamental vine with huge flowers....
- (incl Hylocereus polyrhizus of gardens) Costa Rica and Nicaragua to Peru. Stems waxy-white without horny margins. Flowers ca. 30 cm long with large bracts, usually with purple margins. Fruit red with purple pulpa.
Hylocereus escuintlensis Guatemala. Stems green not glaucous, brown-margined. Flowers 28-31 cm long, 24-36 cm wide.
Hylocereus megalanthus
Hylocereus megalanthus

Hylocereus megalanthus is a cactus species native to northern South America. The species is grown commercially for its fruit, but is also an impressive ornamental vine with perhaps the largest flowers of all cacti....
- Stems green, slender without horny margins. Flowers 30-38 cm long with large flattened tubercles and small bracts. Flowers similar to Selenicereus. Fruit yellow.
Hylocereus minutiflorus - Guatemala, Honduras. Stems green. Flowers with rigid spines at base of flower, 5 cm long, 8-9 cm wide, white.
Hylocereus monacanthus - (incl. Hylocereus lemairei) Costa Rica to N South America. Stems gray-green without horny margins. Flowers ca 30 cm long, petals white, tinged pinkish near base or entirely pink. Tube with distant bracts. Stigma lobes usually forked. Fruit red with purple pulpa.
Hylocereus ocamponis - (incl. Hylocereus guatemalense, Hylocereus purpursii) Mexico & Guatemala. Stems white-waxy, margins horny, spines needle-like, to 12 mm long. Flowers 25-32 cm long with white inner tepals. Bracts overlapping, with purple margins.
Hylocereus setaceus
Hylocereus setaceus

Hylocereus setaceus is a species of plant in the Cactaceae family. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, rocky shores, and sandy shores....
- Stems green without horny margins, rather spiny. Flowers 19-22 cm with small tubercles and bracts. Flowers similar to Selenicereus. Fruit red.
Hylocereus stenopterus- Costa Rica. Stems thin, soft, green. Flowers 9-10 cm long, 13-15 cm wide, tube short, tepals purplish red.
Hylocereus triangularis (incl. Hylocereus cubensis). Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica. Stems green without horny margins, slender. Flowers ca. 20 cm long, base with wide overlapping scales.
Hylocereus trigonus - (incl. Hylocereus napoleonis, Hylocereus antiguensis). West Indies (Puerto Rico south to Grenada). Stems green without horny margins. Flowers ca. 22 cm long, 21 cm wide, base with small, narrow, widely spaced scales, sometimes spiny. Fruit red.
Hylocereus undatus
Hylocereus undatus

Hylocereus undatus is a species of Cactaceae and is the most cultivated species in the genus. It is used both as an ornamental vine and as a fruit crop - the Pitaya or Dragonfruit....
Native habitat unknown and maybe of hybrid origin. Stems green, margins undulate and horny. Flowers 25-30 cm long, white with green outer tepals and bracts. Fruit red with white pulpa.