Taxon: Selenicereus undatus (Haw.) D. R. Hunt

Summary

Genus:

Selenicereus

Family:

Cactaceae

Subfamily:

Cactoideae

Tribe:

Hylocereeae

Nomen number:

490920

Place of publication:

Cactaceae Syst. Init. 36:35. 2017

Verified:

Name not verified.

Accessions:

2 (1 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Basionym
Cereus undatus Haw.

Homotypic Synonym(s)
Hylocereus undatus (Haw.) Britton & Rose

No images

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Korotkova, N. et al. 2017. A phylogenetic framework for the Hylocereeae (Cactaceae) and implications for the circumscription of the genera. Phytotaxa 327(1):30. DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.327.1.1.

Common names

Language	Name	note	seq	Citation
English	belle-of-the-night	as Hylocereus undatus	1	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: as Hylocereus undatus
English	dragon fruit	as Hylocereus undatus	1	Anderson, E. F. 2001. The cactus family Note: as Hylocereus undatus
English	moonlight cactus	as Hylocereus undatus	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource). Note: as Hylocereus undatus
English	night-blooming cereus	as Hylocereus undatus	1	Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada Note: as Hylocereus undatus
English	queen-of-the-night	as Hylocereus undatus	1	Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada Note: as Hylocereus undatus
English	red pitaya	as Hylocereus undatus	1	To, L. V. et al. 2002. Dragon Fruit Quality and Storage Life: Effect of Harvest Time, Use of Plant Growth Regulators and Modified Atmosphere. Acta Hort. 575:611-621. Note: as Hylocereus undatus
English	strawberry-pear	as Hylocereus undatus	1	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: as Hylocereus undatus
French	pitahaya rouge	as Hylocereus undatus	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: as Hylocereus undatus
French	pitaya	as Hylocereus undatus	2	Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2 Note: as Hylocereus undatus
German	Distelbirne	as Hylocereus undatus	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: as Hylocereus undatus
Spanish	chacam	as Hylocereus undatus	2	Anderson, E. F. 2001. The cactus family Note: as Hylocereus undatus
Spanish	chak-wob	as Hylocereus undatus	2	Anderson, E. F. 2001. The cactus family Note: as Hylocereus undatus
Spanish	junco tapatío	as Hylocereus undatus	2	Anderson, E. F. 2001. The cactus family Note: as Hylocereus undatus
Spanish	pitahaya	as Hylocereus undatus	2	Facciola, S. 1990. Cornucopia, a source book of edible plants Kampong Publications. Note: as Hylocereus undatus
Spanish	pitahaya dulce	as Hylocereus undatus	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants Note: as Hylocereus undatus
Spanish	pitahaya orejona	as Hylocereus undatus	2	Anderson, E. F. 2001. The cactus family Note: as Hylocereus undatus
Spanish	reina de la noche	as Hylocereus undatus	2	Anderson, E. F. 2001. The cactus family Note: as Hylocereus undatus
Spanish	tasajo	as Hylocereus undatus	2	Anderson, E. F. 2001. The cactus family Note: as Hylocereus undatus
Spanish	zacamb	as Hylocereus undatus	2	Anderson, E. F. 2001. The cactus family Note: as Hylocereus undatus
Swedish	röd pitahaya	as Hylocereus undatus	2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource) Note: as Hylocereus undatus

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
2	Cultivated					widely cult.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Reunion			Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	China	China			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Taiwan			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia	New South Wales	n.e.	George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Queensland	e.	George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Florida		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Pacific	North-Central Pacific	United States	Hawaii		Wagner, W. L. et al. 1990. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawai'i
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Southwestern Pacific	New Caledonia			Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Southwestern Pacific	Niue			Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Brazil	Brazil			Forzza, R. C. et al., coord. Lista de espécies da flora do Brasil (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Chile	Juan Fernández Islands		Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
6	Other					origin neotropics

Cultivated (widely cult.)
Naturalized
Africa

SOUTHERN AFRICA: South Africa
WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Reunion

Asia-Temperate

CHINA: China
EASTERN ASIA: Taiwan

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia [New South Wales (n.e.), Queensland (e.)]

Northern America

SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Florida]

Pacific

NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii]
SOUTHWESTERN PACIFIC: New Caledonia, Niue

Southern America

BRAZIL: Brazil
SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Chile [Juan Fernández Islands]

Other (origin neotropics)

Reference(s)

FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Forzza, R. C. et al., coord. Lista de espécies da flora do Brasil (on-line resource).
George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
Wagner, W. L. et al. 1990. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawai'i
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Environmental	ornamental	as Hylocereus undatus	Encke, F. et al. 1993. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 14. Auflage Note: as Hylocereus undatus
Environmental	ornamental	as Hylocereus undatus	Facciola, S. 1990. Cornucopia, a source book of edible plants Kampong Publications. Note: as Hylocereus undatus
Human food	beverage base	as Hylocereus undatus	Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2 Note: as Hylocereus undatus
Human food	fruit	as Hylocereus undatus	Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2 Note: as Hylocereus undatus
Human food	vegetable	as Hylocereus undatus	Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2 Note: as Hylocereus undatus

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=490920. Accessed 17 April 2026.