This morning as dawn broke, a pitahaya bloomed in Oaxaca. Tipped off by my neighbor, I ran upstairs with my camera — before coffee, no less!
The eight inches across flower was definitely worth it because, alas, by late morning this beauty will have wilted. It will dry, eventually drop off, and fruit will begin to form on the section hiding behind the flower and from which it emerged.
In a few months, there will be a red luscious dragon fruit, like this one on a neighboring stalk. I miss the pitahayas that used to climb the chain link fence surrounding my terrace.
By the way, if you are confused about the difference between pitahaya and pitaya (as I used to be), this page from the Mexican government gives the most complete explanation I’ve seen. It’s worth running through a translator if you don’t read Spanish.
My entry in Cee’s Flower of the Day photo challenge.
Mexican Peso Converter
View From Casita Colibrí 
Magnificent! I never knew how dragon fruit grew. Thanks!
It really is a stunning and incredibly tenacious plant — and it tastes good, too!
Since it is called “dragonfruit” I’d assumed it was from Asia. But no! From the Americas. I checked my reference book “Frutas de America” by Clara Ines Olaya. It has an interesting history of cactus fruits if you’re interested, let me know and I’ll scan the chapter for you. The Aztecs called tunas “tenochtli”….Tenochtitlan…. And, it is probable that your Pitahaya flower is pollinated by bats or moths, as are most white flowers. Gorgeous photo!
Thanks for the offer; that would be great. You can send to my email: cybrariandesigns [at] aol [dot] com. Yes, the pitahaya’s are pollinated by fruit bats and moths.
If I read it (the referenced article) correctly, the pitahaya = dragon fruit originated in Vietnam. Very interesting comparison of pitaya y pitahaya regarding nutrition, species, etc.
I checked my reference book and Wikipedia….they say pitahaya is native American….a kind of cactus….