Selenicereus undatus

(Haw.) D.R.Hunt · species

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Plantae/Tracheophyta/Magnoliopsida/Caryophyllales/Cactaceae/Selenicereus

At a glance

Occurrence records2 573

Data sources15

Biological traits46

DNA specimens0

eDNA detections43

Sources15 archives

Databases and archives Selenicereus undatus's data was compiled from.

WikipediaWikimedia Foundation13 languages↗

BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗

GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility2 573 records↗

ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI43 eDNA detections↗

dukesphytochemcompounds

FooDBThe Metabolomics Innovation Centrecompounds↗

foodatlascompounds

LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗

NPASSNat. Product Activity & Species Sourcecompounds↗

GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗

CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗

giftgenome & karyotype

GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗

NCBIUS National Library of Medicinegenome & karyotype↗

PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype

On this page6 sections

Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.

NarrativeWikipediaarticle

Traits & measurements4 literature sources46 traits

Chemical compositionDukesPhytochem · FooDB · FoodAtlas · LOTUS · NPASS4 041 compounds

Occurrence & distributionGBIF2 573 records

Environmental DNA1 datasets · 1 countries43 detections

Genome at a glanceCCDB · GIFT · GoaT≈1.3 Gbp

01Narrative

Selenicereus undatus, the white-fleshed pitahaya, is a species of 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.นิดดา หงส์วิวัฒน์ และทวีทอง หงส์วิวัฒน์. แก้วมังกร ใน ผลไม้ 111 ชนิด: คุณค่าอาหารและการกิน. กทม. แสงแดด. 2550 หน้า 37 - 39 The native origin of the species has never been resolved.

No narrative description available for this taxon yet.

02Traits & measurements

SourcesWCVPGIFTAusTraitsTRY

Size & morphology16

Fruit length90 mm

⚠ sources differ — AusTraits: 90 mm · GIFT: 95 mm

Fruit length max125 mm

Fruit length min50 mm

Fruit width90 mm

Fruit width max90 mm

Fruit width min40 mm

Leaf length max250 mm

Leaf length min150 mm

Leaf width max250 mm

Leaf width min150 mm

Plant height6.5 m

Plant height max15 m

Plant height min1 m

Seed mass1.37 mg

Seed mass max1.37 mg

Seed mass min1.37 mg

Life cycle & reproduction13

Deciduousnessevergreen

Dehiscenceindehiscent

Flower colourgreen

Flower length max270 mm

Flower length min150 mm

Flower width max200 mm

Flower width min150 mm

Flowering endJul

Flowering startApr

Life formsucculent epiphyte

Life spanperennial

Pollination modebiotic

Pollination syndromebat

Diet & foraging1

Parasiteindependent

Habitat & environment12

Aquaticterrestrial

Climateseasonally dry tropical

Climberself-supporting

Elevation max1 500 m

Elevation mean152 m

Elevation min0 m

Epiphyteterrestrial

Fruit colourpink

Fruit typeberry

Growth formshrub

⚠ sources differ — GIFT: shrub · AusTraits: climber_woody shrub · TRY: Climber

Habitat GIFTÁrea Antrópica

Woodinessvariable

⚠ sources differ — TRY: woody/nonwoody · AusTraits: woody · GIFT: non-woody

Physiology & chemistry2

Nitrogen fixingnon_nitrogen_fixer

Photosynthetic pathwayCAM

Other traits2

Defenseyes

Shoot orientationscandent

03Chemical composition4 041 compounds

Compounds documented for Selenicereus undatus across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").

🍽 Used in cookingFruits

Compound class profile5 classes

Glycerophospholipids57

Triacylglycerols17

Monoacylglycerols9

Betalain alkaloids8

Glycerolipids5

Documented compounds4 041 total

Tissue Source Quantified only

Compound	Amount	Source
WATER	922,000 ppm	DukesPhytochem
CARBOHYDRATES	846,150 ppm	DukesPhytochem
FIBER	141,025 ppm	DukesPhytochem
PROTEIN	89,745 ppm	DukesPhytochem
ASH	38,460 ppm	DukesPhytochem
FAT	25,640 ppm	DukesPhytochem
KILOCALORIES	3,460 ppm	DukesPhytochem
PHOSPHORUS	1,665 ppm	DukesPhytochem
CALCIUM	640 ppm	DukesPhytochem
ASCORBIC-ACID	515 ppm	DukesPhytochem

05DNA & barcoding43 eDNA hits

A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Selenicereus undatus has left across the world's sequence archives.

At a glance

eDNA detections43

Countries1

06Genome at a glanceCCDB · GIFT · GoaT · NCBI

The complete instruction manual Selenicereus undatus carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.

Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is

Genome size≈1 326 731 138 bp assembly estimate

Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).

BACTERIUM Carsonella ruddii0.00016 Gb

FUNGUS0.04 Gb

INSECT0.25 Gb

THIS GENOME Selenicereus undatus1.33 Gb

HUMAN3.2 Gb

WHEAT17 Gb

FERN Tmesipteris160.45 Gb

Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged

2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.

Chromosomes2n = 22 n = 11

Ploidy2× diploid · measured

Chromosome records22–222n range22median22mode4records

Chromosome-count records — grouped by value · 2n = full set, n = gamete · click a value for sources & references

2n 224×CCDB · ipcn-api-dl · CCDB · book-ipcn66 · CCDB · eflora +1

CCDB · ipcn-api-dl — Lichtenzveig, J., S. Abbo, A. Nerd, N. Tel-Zur & Y. Mizrahi. 2000. Cytology and mating systems in the climbing cacti Hylocereus and Selenicereus. Amer. J. Bot. 87(7): 1058–1065.

CCDB · book-ipcn66 — Spencer1955

CCDB · eflora

GIFT · GIFT (floras)

Ploidy records — measured levels and diploid/polyploid inferences · click for sources

diploid1×GIFT · GIFT (floras)

GIFT · GIFT (floras)

diploid inferred1×PloiDB · family-scale

PloiDB · family-scale — chromEvol; reliability=1.000 ↗

Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers

Assembly level tells you how finished the sequence is — from fragmented contigs, through scaffolds, up to a full chromosome-level assembly. BUSCO % estimates completeness: the share of genes expected to be present that were actually found. These describe the data quality, not the organism.

Assembly levelScaffold

Completeness94% BUSCO

08Occurrence & distribution

Record type2 573 records

Wild obs. + sensor2 502

Museum / vouchered65

Other6

Origin

Introduced4

Range

Area of Occupancy AOO6 800 km²

Wildobservation + sensor

Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.

Coordinate accuracy87% within 1 km

≤100 m 1 456≤1 km 251≤10 km 137>10 km 123

1 967 georeferenced · 535 without coordinates

Open the mapobservation + sensor2 502

Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence

Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.

Coordinate accuracy100% within 1 km

≤1 km 10

10 georeferenced · 55 without coordinates

Open the institutions mapphysical evidence65

Wildobservation + sensor

Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.

10Collections & institutions

Holding institutions9 of 16 geolocated

Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.

Institution	Specimens
Instituto para la Investigación y la Preservación del Patrimonio Cultural y Natural del Valle del Cauca - INCIVAlocation not on record	9
Tampa, US	5
Saint Louis, US	3
Phoenix, US	2
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Nortelocation not on record	1
Campo Mourão, BR	1
Laboratorio de Ictiologialocation not on record	1
Universidade Federal do Maranhãolocation not on record	1
Ivano-Frankivsk, UA	1
Christchurch, NZ	1
San José, CR	1
León, NI	1
BIO-UNIPIlocation not on record	1
MEXUlocation not on record	1
Brasília, BR	1
UTFPR-CPlocation not on record	1

16 institutions · 31 of 65 vouchered records shown · 34 without an institution code

09Environmental DNA43 detections

Where the DNA of Selenicereus undatus was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.

Signal

Detections DNA found43

Studies independent surveys1

Countries1

Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections

Where its DNA was found

0 of 43 detections have coordinates

Open the map1 country0

How strong is each trace?

DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.

Modelled climatemodelled

−15°Ctemperature across detection sites+40°C

Temperature median26.8 °C 26.8–26.8

Seasonal swing summer↔winter5.30 °C

Max temp (day)31.7 °C

Min temp (night)22.9 °C

Precipitation138 mm/mo

Air humidity64.9 %

Moisture balance-21.1 mm/mo

Vapour deficit1,236 Pa

Wind speed1.60 m/s

Cloud cover29.2 %

CHELSA 1981–2010, ~9 km grid, at location & month of 1 detection point · median with p10–p90 · reflects where sampling happened, not only the true niche

How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.

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Selenicereus undatus

At a glance

Sources15 archives

Size & morphology16

Life cycle & reproduction13

Diet & foraging1

Habitat & environment12

Physiology & chemistry2

Other traits2

Compound class profile5 classes

Documented compounds4 041 total

At a glance

Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is

Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged

Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers

Record type2 573 records

Origin

Range

Wildobservation + sensor

Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence

Wildobservation + sensor

Holding institutions9 of 16 geolocated

Signal

Where its DNA was found

How strong is each trace?

Modelled climatemodelled

Documented compounds4 041 total

Record type2 573 records