What is Dragon Fruit?
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The Pitaya is more commonly referred to as the dragon fruit. It is an extremely beautiful fruit that has dazzling flowers and an intense shape and color. The dragon fruit is usually a dark red color, although some types of this fruit are pink or yellow. The skin of the dragon fruit is a thin rind. The skin is usually covered in scales, and the center of the fruit is made up of a red or white, sweet tasting pulp.
It not known exactly where the dragon fruit originated, but it is thought to have come from South America. The French are believed to have brought the dragon fruit to Vietnam over a hundred years ago. Dragon fruits were grown there to be eaten by royalty and very wealthy families. Now, the fruit flourishes in American states such as Texas, and is also grown in Mexico and other South American countries such as Argentina and Peru.
The dragon fruit is cultivated in tropical regions around the world. The plant of the dragon fruit can grow from around a few inches or centimeters to up to twenty feet (around six meters). It flourishes in hot regions with a heavy rainfall. Periods of cold will kill the plant, and it loves the high temperatures found in tropical countries.
The flowers of the dragon fruit plant only bloom at night and usually only live for one night. Pollination happens at this time to allow the fruit to emerge. The flowers of the dragon fruit give out a very beautiful scent, and the smell can fill the night air wherever the plant grows.
The dragon fruit is best eaten by cutting the fruit in half and scooping the flesh out. The flavor is very refreshing and sweet. Dragon fruits are delicious chilled and can be served in fruit juices and fruit salads or made into jam. They can also be juiced and added to alcohol to make a very delicious drink.
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27
Dragon fruit is a good fruit, good resource of vitamins, fibres and minerals, helps in boosting immunity and digestion also prevents rare diseases. I love this fruit. --Sari17 - anon51746
26
dragon fruit is cheap in south east asia though more expensive than the usual orange apple mango. At least the one i've tried with the deep pink flesh has a light floral sweet taste to it. Very nice! - anon49942
25
I have not eaten my fruit yet. I hope i will like it how ever i am not crazy about kiwi by itself. It is good in a fruit salad and i feel this may be the case with this fruit. Does the plant look like a cactus. In one of the comments they said be careful. Why would that be? I have asthma it also said that it was good for breathing. Is this so? Your answers are important to me. - anon48732
24
i have read from a local magazine that dragon fruit contains high levels of vitamin c, calcium and phosphorus with high levels of antioxidants. - anon44212
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what are the optimum physical and chemical soil conditions required for dragon fruit growth? - venurak
22
I have a big dragon fruit vine. During the summer it blooms 4 or 5 times with 80 to 100 flowers each time, but I only get 4 or 5 fruits with each bloom. Can I increase my fruits by hand pollenating? And just exactly how do I hand pollenate? - anon39322
21
We can tell when our dragon fruit is ripe because the bloom will fall off the very top and the fruit itself will usually turn red....except the yellow dragon. When the prickers fall off easily they are ripe. Some will twist off very easily.
- ilovefruits
20
So the one thing your article (and others on the web) is not telling me "how do I know when the dragonfruit is ripe?" Should it feel like a peach, avocado, cantaloupe, or apple? Can I tell by a pleasant scent? How relevant is color to ripeness? - ilovefruits
19
Can the dragon fruit be a dietary supplement? I don't know that - anon39318
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I'm Barbara Kasey Smith, a college professor. On the year 2004, dietary supplements made up of Dragon Fruit emerges, which means that Dragon Fruit contains Fiber that causes it to reduce fat. I'm a biology major, and we all know that metabolism and obesity are closely related. I think aside from having the potential to reduce fat and help in weight-loss, maybe it can also be a metabolic enhancer. What do you think? Maybe it has proteins or vitamins that can perform the metabolic enhancement. If I were not mistaken (I studied this a long time ago, I hope I'm not forgetting this) vitamin B1 and B2 are the ones responsible in metabolism. Maybe this fruit contains the said vitamins. For those who feel that their metabolism is a bit slow, maybe you can try this fruit. There's no harm in trying anyway. thank you very much :) - anon39315
17
asavella .. No, you can't propagate dragon fruit from seeds.anon3166 ... I ate the fruits ever since I'm little and No, I'm not crazy or sick, well, maybe the flu, but that doesn't have anything to do with the fruits.. lol.. Also, you can only eat the flesh, the rinds you peel and throw away. - anon28546
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Can we propagate dragon fruit from seeds? - asavella
15
We have purchased a couple of dragon fruit at Whole Foods in Miami. It is beautiful and tastes, to us, very much like kiwi. The only problem is that is incredibly expensive. - anon28372
14
The Dragon fruit is grown from a orchid cactus generally called night blooming cereus. The blooms can be quite lavish ranging from 5-10". You can find them for sale from tropical plant growers. I am not sure if all types will produce Fruit. Hylocereus undatus seems to be the one, although I am not sure if Epiphyllum oxypentalum does or not. I have seen nothing about hybrids producing fruit.Apparently the plants need to be older to fruit. Personally, I am going to try sprouting seeds from a fruit to get the type of plant I want instead of guessing which of the three types I would end up with. You can find them occasionally at groceries that carry exotic foods. - anon27735
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Just to add that the flower of the Pitaya or Dragon Fruit is known as Bawang hua in Chinese. In Mainland China, the fresh flowers or dried ones are cooked with pork ribs as a soup. It is believed that the bawang hua has a 'cooling' effect (i.e. 'yin' food) on the body and is consumed during the hot months. - anon18480
12
We can tell when our dragon fruit is ripe because the bloom will fall off the very top and the fruit itself will usually turn red....except the yellow dragon. When the prickers fall off easily they are ripe. Some will twist off very easily. - ShiraAnn
11
So the one thing your article (and others on the web) is not telling me "how do I know when the dragonfruit is ripe?" Should it feel like a peach, avocado, cantaloupe, or apple? Can I tell by a pleasant scent? How relevant is color to ripeness? - anon15986
10
Dragon fruit does NOT taste like ham, it is sweet. If you want to yield the greatest amount of fruits....think of how nature pollinates flowers. The Dragon fruit boosts the immune system, respiratory system and is physically full of natural fiber...so be careful hah - anon15776
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I am wanting to know where to buy the plant or seed for Dragon fruit, I live in the tropics (in australia) - herby1618
8
what are the virus diseases in dragon fruits? - anon10367
7
Please be kind enough to provide more information about the production and market of the " Dragon Fruit" - Diluk
6
I need to know more information about dragon fruit. does anyone have information or guidance of growing & selling Dragon fruit? - disanayake
5
The Dragon fruit tastes very much like ham. - anon6670
4
Can you eat the whole fruit and rind of the dragon fruit? I was told that it could make you crazy or sick. I know this sounds silly but this is a genuine question and look forward to your answer. - anon3166
3
I have a big dragon fruit vine. During the summer it blooms 4 or 5 times with 80 to 100 flowers each time, but I only get 4 or 5 fruits with each bloom. Can I increase my fruits by hand pollenating? And just exactly how do I hand pollenate? - anon922
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Dragon fruit is rich in vitamin C and antioxidants, and therefore are thought to have many important health benefits, including boosting immunity and preventing cancer. - Dayton
1
What is Health benefit of this fruit ? - anon608
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Written by
Garry Crystal
Last Modified: 09 November 2009
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