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Species library › Selenicereus › Selenicereus undatus
Succulents Well documented

Selenicereus undatus

The white-fleshed dragon fruit, a three-ribbed climbing cactus that scrambles over trees and rocks in the seasonally dry lowland forests of Mexico and northern Central America. It wants warmth, bright light with some midday shade, a sturdy support to climb, and a drier, cooler winter that helps trigger its huge night-opening flowers.

Selenicereus undatus
Photo: Tiago Lubiana, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restClimber

Where it grows wild

A hemi-epiphytic climber that roots in the ground or in tree forks and clings to trunks, branches and rock faces with aerial roots, in seasonally dry tropical forest and forest edges. Its exact wild origin is blurred by centuries of cultivation, so many records may be old plantings gone wild.

Recorded from near sea level to about 2,250 m, with a median of 360 m; most plants are in warm lowlands and foothills below about 1,000 m.

Mexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestGuatemalaEl SalvadorHonduras

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

Grow Selenicereus undatus? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC0 licence, unmodified.