Selenicereus, from Ancient Greek σελήνη (selḗnē), meaning "moon", and Latin cēreus, meaning "candle", sometimes known as moonlight cactus, is a genus of epiphytic, lithophytic, and terrestrial cacti, found in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. The term night-blooming cereus is also sometimes used, but this is also used for many night-blooming cacti, including Epiphyllum and Peniocereus. In 2017, the genus Hylocereus was brought into synonymy with Selenicereus. A number of species of Selenicereus produce fruit that is eaten. The fruit, known as pitaya or pitahaya in Spanish or as dragon fruit, may be collected from the wild or the plants may be cultivated.
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In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Selenicereus
- Selenicereus in the context of List of edible cacti
- Selenicereus in the context of Selenicereus megalanthus
- Selenicereus in the context of Selenicereus undatus
Selenicereus in the context of List of edible cacti
This is a list of edible plants in the family Cactaceae.
- Acanthocereus tetragonus - sword pear
- Browningia candelaris
- Carnegiea gigantea - saguaro
- Cereus repandus - hedge cactus
- Cochemiea
- Corryocactus
- Coryphantha - beehive cacti
- Disocactus anguliger - zig zag cactus (grows edible fruit with a taste similar to kiwifruit)
- Echinocereus - strawberry cacti or hedgehog cacti
- E. bonkerae - short-spined strawberry cactus
- E. boyce-thompsonii
- E. brandegeei
- E. cinerascens
- E. dasyacanthus - spiny hedgehog cactus
- E. engelmannii - strawberry hedgehog cactus
- E. enneacanthus
- E. fasciculatus - pinkflower hedgehog cactus
- E. fendleri - Fendler's hedgehog cactus
- E. ledingii
- E. nicholii
- E. stramineus - pitaya
- Echinopsis coquimbana - sea-urchin cactus
- Epiphyllum - orchid cacti
- Epithelantha (the fruit of all species said to be edible)
- Eulychnia
- Ferocactus
- F. hamatacanthus - Turk's head
- F. histrix - borrachito
- F. latispinus - pocha
- Harrisia - prickly applecacti
- H. aboriginum - west-coast prickly apple
- H. adscendens
- H. balansae
- H. eriophora
- H. fragrans - fragrant prickly apple
- H. martinii - Martin applecactus
- H. pomanensis
- H. simpsonii - Simpson's applecactus
- Leucostele atacamensis - cardón
- Lophocereus schottii - senita cactus
- Mammillaria - nipple cacti or birthday cake cacti
- M. applanata
- M. lasiacantha - golf-ball pincushion cactus
- M. meiacantha
- M. microcarpa
- M. oliviae
- Other species
- Maihuenia - maihuén
- Myrtillocactus geometrizans - garambulos (taste like less-acidic cranberries)
- Neowerdermannia vorwerkii - achakana
Selenicereus in the context of Selenicereus megalanthus
Selenicereus megalanthus, synonym Hylocereus megalanthus, is a cactus species in the genus Selenicereus that is native to northern South America, where it is known, along with its fruit, by the name of pitahaya. The species is grown commercially for its yellow fruit, but is also an impressive ornamental climbing vine with perhaps the largest flowers of all cacti.
The yellow skinned fruit of S. megalanthus has thorns, unlike the green, red or yellow skinned dragon fruits of S. undatus, S. monacanthus and their cultivated hybrids. S. megalanthus is commonly known as "yellow dragon fruit", "yellow pitahaya", "kirin fruit", or "yellow pitaya". This name leads at times to confusion, as unrelated cultivars of other dragonfruit species can also have yellow skinned fruit. One example of a yellow dragonfruit cultivar not related to S. megalanthus is 'Australian Gold'.
View the full Wikipedia page for Selenicereus megalanthusSelenicereus in the context of Selenicereus undatus
Selenicereus undatus, the white-fleshed pitahaya, is a species of the genus Selenicereus (formerly Hylocereus) in the family Cactaceae and is the most cultivated species in the genus. It is used both as an ornamental vine and as a fruit crop, the pitahaya or dragon fruit.
Like all true cacti, the genus originates in the Americas. S. undatus is native from Mexico to Honduras; it may be a hybrid.
View the full Wikipedia page for Selenicereus undatus