Weeds of Australia - Fact Sheet

Top Scientific Name Synonyms Family Common Names Origin Naturalised Distribution Notes

Scientific Name

Hylocereus undatus (Haw.) Britt. & Rose

Synonyms

Cereus undatus Haw.

Family

Cactaceae

Common Names

belle of the night, dragon fruit, dragonfruit, moonlight cactus, night blooming cactus, night blooming cereus, night-blooming cactus, nightblooming cactus, night-blooming cereus, pitahaya, pitaya, queen of the night, queen-of-the-night, red dragon fruit, red pitaya, strawberry pear, white centred pitaya

Origin

This exact origin of this species is obscure, because of its cultivation as a fruit, but it is thought to be native to southern Mexico, Central America and northern South America.

Naturalised Distribution

This species is becoming widely naturalised in eastern Australia. It has been recorded in south-eastern and central Queensland and in the coastal districts of northern New South Wales.

Also naturalised overseas in La Réunion, Hawaii, New Caledonia, Niue and south-eastern USA (i.e. Florida).

Notes

Night-blooming cactus (Hylocereus undatus) is regarded as an environmental weed in Queensland and New South Wales. It has escaped cultivation and is becoming a weed of open woodlands, dry rainforest, riparian areas and coastal vegetation in the warmer parts of eastern Australia. It is usually found growing on trees (i.e. as a climber or epiphyte) and can even climb up into the canopy of very tall trees. Night-blooming cactus (Hylocereus undatus) will form massive colonies and the weight of its succulent stems can eventually bring trees down.

This species appears on local weed lists in Byron Shire, in northern New South Wales, and Redland Shire in south-eastern Queensland. Overseas it is regarded as being invasive in Hawaii, on the island of Niue, and in the Florida Keys in south-eastern USA.