These fruits are commonly known as "dragon fruit" as in the Cambodian language Sror Kaa Neark--"dragon scale", in the Chinese huǒ lóng guǒ, "fire dragon fruit", and lóng zhū guǒ, "dragon pearl fruit". The Vietnamese thanh long meaning "green dragon", the Malay buah naga, the Lao mark mang gohn, and the Thai kaeo mangkon or "dragon crystal". Other vernacular names are strawberry pear or nanettika fruit.
The vine-like epiphytic pitahaya-producing cacti of the genus Hylocereus are native to Mexico, Central America, and South America. Currently, they are also cultivated in East Asian and Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia, Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Indonesia and more recently Bangladesh. They are also found in Okinawa, Hawaii, Israel, northern Australia, southern China and in Cyprus.
The fruit was probably introduced by Europeans who brought it from the New World. In the case of Taiwan, the fruit was brought in by the Dutch.
Hylocereus blooms only at night; the large white fragrant flowers of the typical cactus flower shape are among those called "moonflower" or "Queen of the Night". Sweet pitahayas have a creamy pulp and a delicate aroma. It is also grown as an Ornamental plant, used in gardens as a flowering vine and a house plant indoors.
Stenocereus fruit (sour pitayas) are a variety that is commonly eaten in the arid regions of the Americas. They are more sour and refreshing, with juicier flesh and a stronger taste. The sour pitaya or pitaya agria (S. gummosus) in the Sonoran Desert has been an important food source for Native Americans. The Seri people of northwestern Mexico still harvest the fruit, and call the plant ziix is ccapxl – "thing whose fruit is sour". The fruit of related species, such as S. queretaroensis and the dagger cactus (S. griseus), are also locally important food. The Organ Pipe Cactus (S. thurberi) fruit (called ool by the Seris) is the pitaya dulce ("sweet pitaya"). It still has a more tart aroma than Hylocereus fruit, described as somewhat reminiscent of watermelon; it has some uses in folk medicine.
Fruits of some other columnar cacti (mainly Cereeae) are also called "pitayas" – for example those of the Peruvian Apple Cactus (Cereus repandus), which are very rare. After thorough cleaning of the seeds from the pulp of the fruit, the seeds may be stored when dried. Ideally, the fruit must be unblemished and overripe. Seeds grow well in a compost or potting soil mixeven as a potted indoor plant. Pitahaya cacti usually germinate between 11 and 14 days after shallow planting. As they are cacti, overwatering is a concern for home growers. As their growth continues, these climbing plants will find something to climb on, which can involve putting aerial roots down from the branches in addition to the basal roots. Once the plant reaches a mature 10 pounds in weight, the plant may flower.
Pitahaya flowers bloom overnight and usually wilt by the morning. They rely on nocturnal pollinators such as bats or moths for fertilization. Self-fertilization will not produce fruit in some species, and while cross-breeding has resulted in several "Self-Fertile" varieties, cross-pollinating with a second plant species generally increases fruit set and quality. This limits the capability of home growers to produce the fruit. However, the plants can flower between three and six times in a year depending on growing conditions. Like other cacti, if a healthy piece of the stem is broken off, it may take root in soil and become its own plant.
The plants can handle temperatures up to 40 °C (104 °F) and very short periods of frost, but will not survive long exposure to freezing temperatures. The cacti thrive most in USDA zones 10-11, but may survive outdoors in zone 9a or 9b.
Hylocereus has adapted to live in dry tropical climates with a moderate amount of rain. The dragon fruit sets on the cactus-like trees 30–50 days after flowering and can sometimes have 5-6 cycles of harvests per year. There are some farms in Vietnam that produce 30 tons of fruit per hectare every year.
Benefit of Dragon Fruit (Pitaya)
There are Dragon Fruit Benefit below this :
Dragon Fruit Cholesterol
Keeping a heart healthy low cholesterol diet? Don't worry about your cholesterol Dragon fruit cholesterol is not an issue. Dragon fruit is both low in cholesterol and has little to no unhealthy cholesterol producing fats (certain fats which are metabolized to cholesterol contribute to increased cholesterol levels more than even cholesterol itself in food sources of cholesterol).
Dragon Fruit Vitamin C
The amount of vitamin C in dragon fruit is high, and because the dragon fruit is a natural fruit providing you with a rich balance of nutrients coming along with the vitamin C, you absorb the Vitamin C in dragon fruit efficiently when you eat dragon fruit as part of your fruit healthy diet.
Dragon Fruit Antioxidants
Eat dragon fruit as a good natural source of anti-oxidants which help to prevent the dangers of free radicals which can cause cancer and other undesirable health detriments.The number, quantity, and variety of antioxidants in real foods like dragon fruit is completely unmatched by any food supplement or pills - even those claiming to have 'antioxidant' health benefits. Nothing compares to the rich array of nutrients and antioxidants in a real natural food like the dragon fruit. Forget about junk foods and processed foods, as they are poison not foods! Even though a supplement claiming to offer a high amount of antioxidant benefits may sound good, the fact is that foods like dragon fruit have literally thousands of varieties of antioxidant substances and the supplement likely will contain only one (e.g. vitamin E supplements). Taking a single megadose of a single antioxidant compound may in fact cause harm or be toxic! Stick with dragon fruit antioxidant sources and other fresh fruits and vegetables and avoid trying to take a shortcut through a pill.
Dragon Fruit Fats
Dragon Fruit Fiber
Dietary fiber is an important nutrition factor for everyone from young to old, and the best way to get dietary fiber is to eat fruits and vegetables including fruits like the dragon fruit. As you might expect, like many fruits, dragon fruit has lots of dietary fiber with almost 1g of fiber per 100g of the fresh dragon fruit. Of course, the amount of dietary fiber in dragon fruit which is dried on a gram for gram basis is much higher than the amount of dietary fiber in dragon fruit as the fresh fruit. Depending upon the degree of moisture retention in the dried dragon fruit fruit, expect to see 10g or more grams of dietary dragon fruit fiber per 100g of the dried pitahaya fruit. The amount of dietary dragon fruit fiber in the fresh dragon fruit will be more on the order of 1g of fiber per 100g of the fresh dragon fruit because the fresh fruit has so much water in it. If you want to increase how much fiber is in dragon fruit, you can eat more of the dragon fruit skin if it is in good condition (free of any spoilage or molds). Many sources of dried dragon fruit fiber may include some or all of the dragon fruit skin already, so depending upon this fact, you may find that the dried dragon fruit has even more fiber than the fresh fruit even after taking into account the drying process and the resulting concentration of fiber on a gram for gram basis. The health benefits of dragon fruit fiber are just one other example of the reason that eating natural sources of nutrients is superior to getting them from pills and supplements Dragon fruit nutritional benefits also include the levels of dragon fruit antioxidants - the antioxidants in dragon fruit are numerous and varied.
Disadvantage of Dragon Fruit
Fruits with many seeds need a special mechanism to assure the seeds get separated and dispersed far from each other. If fruit merely falls to the ground, seedlings will be so crowded that good growth and establishment are unlikely. Examples of dispersal mechanisms include seeds with wings or down to catch the wind or dependence on animals to eat the fruit and disperse the seed in their droppings without digesting them.
Attractiveness to Consumers
Varieties of citrus with abundant seeds, for instance, are commercially unpopular because of the additional time needed to remove seeds from juice or fresh fruit. Most animals also prefer fruit with more flesh than seeds.
Seed-Eating Pests
Where many seeds are present, high populations of seed-feeding insects, such as leaf-footed plant bugs, can build up and destroy many of the seeds. Pomegranates are an example.
Small Seed Size
Some many-seeded fruits save energy by having small seeds with few food reserves for the embryonic seedling. This can reduce seedling viability.
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