If not otherwise stated, this article's content refers specifically to the pitayas of Hylocereus species, or "dragon fruit".
Hylocereus blooms only at night; the large white fragrant flowers of the typical cactusflower shape are among those called "moonflower" or "Queen of the Night". Sweet pitayas 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.
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 mix - even as a potted indoor plant. Pitaya 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 lbs weight, one may see the plant flower.
Pitaya cacti flower overnight, usually wilting by the morning. They rely on nocturnal creatures such as bats or moths for fertilization by other pitaya. Self-fertilization will not produce fruit. 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 especially 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. This is a much shorter route to reproduction. The plants handles up to 40 °C (104oF) and very short periods of frost, but does 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.
Early imports from Colombia to Australia were designated Hylocereus ocampensis (supposedly red fruit) and Cereus triangularis (supposedly yellow fruit). It is not quite certain to which species these taxa refer, though the latter is probably the red pitaya.
The fruit can weigh from 150 to 600 grams; some may reach one kilogram.
To prepare a pitaya for consumption, the fruit is cut open to expose the flesh. The fruit's texture is sometimes likened to that of the kiwifruit due to the presence of black, crunchy seeds. The flesh, which is eaten raw, is mildly sweet and low in calories. The seeds are eaten together with the flesh, have a nutty taste and are rich in lipids, but they are indigestible unless chewed. The fruit is also converted into juice or wine, or used to flavour other beverages. The flowers can be eaten or steeped as tea. The skin is not eaten, and in farm-grown fruit it may be polluted with pesticides.
Ingestion of significant amounts of red-fleshed dragon fruit (such as Costa Rica Pitaya) may result in pseudohematuria, a harmless reddish discoloration of the urine and faeces.
-The aforentioned figures are subject to change as per cultivation conditions.-
The fatty acid compositions of two pitaya seed oils were determined as follows:
! | ! "Hylocereus polyrhizus" (probably Costa Rica Pitaya) | ! Hylocereus undatus (Red Pitaya) |
Myristic acid | 0.2% | 0.3% |
Palmitic acid | 17.9% | 17.1% |
Stearic acid | 5.49% | 4.37% |
Palmitoleic acid | 0.91% | 0.61% |
Oleic acid | 21.6% | 23.8% |
Cis-vaccenic acid | 3.14% | 2.81% |
Linoleic acid | 49.6% | 50.1% |
1.21% | 0.98% |
Particularly red-skinned pitayas are a good source of Vitamin C. Pitayas are rich in fiber and minerals, notably phosphorus and calcium. Red pitayas seem to be richer in the former, yellow ones in the latter. The seeds are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, and in particular Red Pitayas contain very little saturated fat. Pitahayas also contain significant quantities of phytoalbumin antioxidants, which prevent the formation of cancer-causing free radicals. In Taiwan, diabetics use the fruit as a food substitute for rice and as a source of dietary fibre. Pitaya supposedly increases excretion of heavy metal toxins and lowers cholesterol and blood pressure. Eaten regularly, it is credited with alleviating chronic respiratory tract ailments.
Pitaya Pitaya Category:Fruit Category:Tropical fruit Category:Desert fruit Hylocereus Hylocereus Category:Crops originating from the Americas Hylocereus Hylocereus Hylocereus Category:Central American cuisine Category:Mesoamerican cuisine Category:Mexican ingredients Category:Vietnamese ingredients Category:Tropical agriculture
bg:Питая cs:Pitahaya de:Drachenfrucht es:Pitahaya eo:Drakofrukto fa:میوه اژدها fr:Pitaya ko:용과 id:Buah naga he:פיטאיה jv:Woh naga hu:Pitaja ms:Buah Naga nl:Pitaya ja:ドラゴンフルーツ no:Pitahaya pl:Pitaja pt:Pitaia ru:Питайя fi:Pitahaya sv:Pitahayasläktet tr:Pitaya vi:Thanh long (thực vật) zh:火龙果This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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