''Selenicereus costaricensis'',

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

''Hylocereus costaricensis'', known as the Costa Rican pitahaya or Costa Rica nightblooming cactus, is a

cactus A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

native to Central America and north-eastern South America. The species is grown commercially for its fruit, called ''

pitaya Pitaya () or pitahaya () (common names strawberry pear or dragon fruit) is the fruit of several cactus species indigenous to the region of southern Mexico and along the Pacific coasts of Guatemala, Costa Rica, and El Salvador. Pitaya is cult ...

'' or ''pitahaya'', but is also an impressive

ornamental Ornamental may refer to: *Ornamental grass, a type of grass grown as a decoration *Ornamental iron, mild steel that has been formed into decorative shapes, similar to wrought iron work *Ornamental plant, a plant that is grown for its ornamental qua ...

vine A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas, or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Da ...

with huge flowers. The species may not be distinct from '' Selenicereus monacanthus''.

Description

*Stem

scandent A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas, or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Day ...

, 1-3 (-10) cm wide, usually very thick; ribs 3 (-4), margins straight to shallowly scallop-lobed; internodes 2-3.5 x 0.1-0.2cm; often folded,

areole In botany, areoles are small light- to dark-colored bumps on cactus, cacti out of which grow clusters of Thorns, spines, and prickles, spines. Areoles are important diagnostic features of cactus, cacti, and identify them as a family distinct fr ...

s on prominences, bearing dense, short wool and (1-) 3-6 (-9) short, dark spines 2–4mm, hairs 2, often bristle-like, soon dropping;

epidermis The epidermis is the outermost of the three layers that comprise the skin, the inner layers being the dermis and Subcutaneous tissue, hypodermis. The epidermal layer provides a barrier to infection from environmental pathogens and regulates the ...

grayish green, +-

glaucous ''Glaucous'' (, ) is used to describe the pale grey or bluish-green appearance of the surfaces of some plants, as well as in the names of birds, such as the glaucous gull (''Larus hyperboreus''), glaucous-winged gull (''Larus glaucescens''), ...

in fresh material. *Flowers funnel-shaped, 22–30cm long, strongly perfumed, young buds globular; cylindric-ovoid, ca 4cm long,

bracteole In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also look ...

s narrow, foliaceous, numerous,

imbricate Aestivation or estivation is the positional arrangement of the parts of a flower within a flower bud before it has opened. Aestivation is also sometimes referred to as praefoliation or prefoliation, but these terms may also mean vernation: the ar ...

, 1–2cm long; receptacle stout, 10–15cm, throat

obconic In botany, an obconic is an inverted cone shape. The term is most frequently applied to certain fruit or hypanthium structures with the apical end attached to the stem; however, less frequently the usage may apply to the pistil structure. In the ca ...

, 6cm in wide at the orifice, bracteoles foliaceous, persistent, particularly imbricating towards the base, green with purple margins;

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s 11–15cm, the outer greenish yellow, the inner white; stigma lobes ca. 12, not forked;

ovary The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/ oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are end ...

covered with large, broadly to narrowly triangular, overlapping bracteoles, 0.5–3cm. *Fruit broadly

ovate Ovate may refer to: * Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe * Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd * Vates or ovate, a term for ancient Celtic bards ...

globose This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary ...

, bright magenta, pupla purple; seeds pear-shaped, black, ca 1mm. Pitaya_Fruit

Taxonomy

Both the identity and the nomenclature of the species have been problematic. The name ''Cereus trigonus'' var. ''costaricensis'' was first published by Frédéric Weber in 1902. The epithet ''costaricensis'' refers to

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, where it is native. The plant Weber described had a triangular stem-like ''Cereus trigonus'', but was "distinguished by its more glaucous stem and especially by its fruit, just as big but more spherical, less scaly, and filled with a crimson pulp of a very delicate taste." It was said to be highly sought after in Costa Rica for its fruit, known as ''pitahaya''. Weber mentioned a photograph of the plant, but as of 2017 this had not been located, so the name lacked a

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

. In 1909, Britton and Rose transferred the plant to the genus ''Hylocereus'' and raised it to a full species as ''Hylocereus costaricensis''. A

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study in 2017 confirmed earlier research showing that the genus ''Hylocereus'' was nested within ''Selenicereus'', so all the species of ''Hylocereus'' were transferred to ''Selenicereus'', with this species becoming ''Selenicereus costaricensis''. However, in the absence of a type, the names remained problematic. In 2021, a

lectotype In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes ...

was designated, and the name was accepted by the

International Plant Names Index The International Plant Names Index (IPNI) describes itself as "a database of the names and associated basic bibliographical details of seed plants, ferns and lycophytes." Coverage of plant names is best at the rank of species and genus. It inclu ...

and

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

. The species has been described as "poorly understood". The name ''Hylocereus costaricensis'' has been treated as synonymous with ''Hylocereus polyrhizus''; however, ''H. polyrhizus'' is regarded by other sources as a synonym of '' Selenicereus monacanthus''. The relationship between ''S. costaricensis'' and ''S. monacanthus'', and in particular whether they are separate species, requires further study.

Distribution and habitat

The species is native from Nicaragua to northern Peru, although its natural range is hard to determine because it has been cultivated so widely. It occurs in dry or deciduous coastal forests, at elevations of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

Cultivation

An easily cultivated, fast-growing

epiphyte An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

xerophyte A xerophyte () is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water. Examples of xerophytes include cacti, pineapple and some gymnosperm plants. The morphology and physiology of xerophytes are adapted to ...

. Needs a compost containing plenty of humus and sufficient moisture in summer. It should not be kept under 10°C (50°F) in winter. Can be grown in semi-shade or full sun. Extra light in the early spring will stimulate budding. Flowers in summer or autumn.

References

External links