Dragon fruit are found growing in the wild in southern Mexico and along the Pacific coasts of Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Columbia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Trinidad, Tobago and Venezuela.
They have been hybridized around the world in California -Paul Thompson started to experiment with x pollinating in the 1950's he developed purple haze, American beauty and more.
Other varieties like the purple Connie Mayer we developed in Germany by a rare fruit grower Eckard Meir.
(I never thought Germany - Dragon fruit would paper in the same sentence let alone be hybridised there?)
Australia has its own varieties - Bernice of red fox retired a few years ago. Red fox was located at Nanango Qld, where Bernice was known for developing and providing varieties, including her very own Aztec Gem and Exit.
With the Popularity of growing dragon fruit growing the greater the varieties over the coming years.
Hybrids are produced by careful pollination and growing of seeds.
Other Names Around the World
- Czech: Dračí ovoce
- Dansk: Dragefrugt
- English: pitahaya dragon fruit, night blooming cereus, strawberry pear, Belle of the Night, Cinderella plant, Jesus in the cradle, moonflower
- Estonian: maasik-metskaktus
- Finnish: pitaija, lohikäärmehedelmä
- French: pitaya, fruit du dragon, cierge-lézard, poire de chardon
- German: Drachenfrucht, Distelbirne
- Greek: Φρούτο του δράκου (fruto tu draku)
- Hawaiian: panini-o-ka-puna-hou ("Punahou cactus") – a famous specimen still grows at Punahoul School
- Japanese: Pitaya (ピタヤ), dragon fruit (ドラゴンフルーツ),
- Korean: Yong-gwa (용과, 龍果, literal translation of dragon fruit),
- Portuguese: pitaia, cato-barse, cardo-ananaz, rainha da noite
- Spanish: pitahaya roja (Costa Rica, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela); flor de caliz, pitajava (Puerto Rico); junco, junco tapatio, pitahaya orejona, reina de la noche, tasajo (Mexico)
- Swedish: skogskaktus, röd pitahaya
- Vietnamese: thanh long
- Thai: แก้วมังกร (kaeo mangkon)
- Malay: buah naga. pronounce:boo-ah naa-gaa
- Malayalam: വ്യാളീഫലം.
- Chinese: 火龙果, 火龍果; pinyin: huǒlóngguǒ
- Italian: Pitahaya, Frutto del Drago
- Bengali: ড্রাগন ফল (dragon fal)
- Lithuanian: kertuotis
- Myanmar: နဂါးမောက်သီး
