Badmin: Created page with "{{Taxobox | name = Hylocereus | image = Hylocereus_undatus.jpg | kingdom = Plantae | family = Cactaceae | subfamily = Cactoideae | tribe = Phyllocacteae | subtribe = Hylocereinae | genus = '''Hylocereus''' | authority = (Berger) Britton & Rose (1909) | notes = Taxonomy follows Joël Lodé (2015). Lodé maintains Hylocereus as a distinct genus from Selenicereus. }} == Etymology == The name is derived from the Greek ''hyle'' (wood or forest) and the La..."

2026-04-07T15:37:59Z

Created page with "{{Taxobox | name = Hylocereus | image = Hylocereus_undatus.jpg | kingdom = Plantae | family = Cactaceae | subfamily = Cactoideae | tribe = Phyllocacteae | subtribe = Hylocereinae | genus = '''Hylocereus''' | authority = (Berger) Britton & Rose (1909) | notes = Taxonomy follows Joël Lodé (2015). Lodé maintains Hylocereus as a distinct genus from Selenicereus. }} == Etymology == The name is derived from the Greek ''hyle'' (wood or forest) and the La..."

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{{Taxobox
| name = Hylocereus
| image = Hylocereus_undatus.jpg
| kingdom = [[Plantae]]
| family = [[Cactaceae]]
| subfamily = [[Cactoideae]]
| tribe = [[Phyllocacteae]]
| subtribe = [[Hylocereinae]]
| genus = '''Hylocereus'''
| authority = (Berger) Britton & Rose (1909)
| notes = Taxonomy follows Joël Lodé (2015). Lodé maintains Hylocereus as a distinct genus from Selenicereus.
}}

== Etymology ==
The name is derived from the Greek ''hyle'' (wood or forest) and the Latin ''cereus'' (wax candle), referring to their forest-dwelling, climbing habit.

== Description ==
'''Hylocereus''' consists of large, climbing or epiphytic cacti, famous for producing the edible fruits known as "Pitahaya" or "Dragon Fruit."
* '''Stems''': Typically 3-angled (triangular) or winged, producing numerous aerial roots for climbing trees or rocks. The margins of the ribs are often undulate (wavy).
* '''Flowers''': Some of the largest in the cactus family, nocturnal, funnel-shaped, and usually white (rarely reddish). They feature broad scales on the floral tube but lack spines or wool.
* '''Fruits''': Large, fleshy, globose to oblong berries, often bright red or yellow, covered with prominent foliaceous scales. The pulp is white, pink, or red and filled with small black seeds.
* '''Seeds''': Relatively large, black, and kidney-shaped.

== Habitat ==
The genus is native to tropical and subtropical forests, where it grows as a hemi-epiphyte (starting on the ground and climbing up) or lithophyte. They are adapted to humid environments with high rainfall.

== Distribution ==
* '''Mexico, Central America, and Northern South America''': Widely distributed and now naturalized in tropical regions worldwide due to cultivation.

== Species and Subspecies ==
Following Lodé (2015), the genus includes 15 recognized species and 1 subspecies:

* [[Hylocereus calcaratus]]
* [[Hylocereus costaricensis]]
* [[Hylocereus escuintlensis]]
* [[Hylocereus guatemalensis]]
* [[Hylocereus herzogianus]]
* [[Hylocereus microcladus]]
* [[Hylocereus monacanthus]]
* [[Hylocereus ocamponis]]
* [[Hylocereus purpusii]]
* [[Hylocereus scandens]]
* [[Hylocereus stenopterus]]
* [[Hylocereus triangularis]]
* [[Hylocereus tricae]]
* [[Hylocereus undatus]] (The most common "Dragon Fruit")
** [[Hylocereus undatus subsp. luteocarpus]]
* [[Hylocereus venezuelensis]]

== Taxonomy ==
Lodé maintains ''Hylocereus'' separate from ''Selenicereus'' based on the absence of spines and wool on the floral tube/pericarpel and the distinct morphology of the fruits. While molecular data shows a close relationship, Lodé prioritizes morphological consistency for practical classification.

[[Category:Cactaceae]]
[[Category:Cactoideae]]
[[Category:Phyllocacteae]]
[[Category:Hylocereinae]]

Hylocereus - Revision history