PITAHAYA AND A MEMORY FROM MY YOUTH

We have been seeing this familiar looking cacti hanging over fences and growing up trees and walls.

 It reminded me of one a dear friend had in her living room.  It certainly wasn't much to look at but we all have different tastes.  (Look at the wide variety of couples in the world and we see attractive things in our mate that others may not.)  She would wait up until the wee early hours of the morning to get a glimpse of its flowers.  Well this week we were a few hours short of seeing an amazing view of this "Queen of the Night".

 



Then I found out that this interesting family of cacti has very unusual fruits.  It is called Pitahaya or "dragon fruit" and Hylocereus undatus .
The previous photo of the single flower and the next photo of the fruit are from wikipedia. This is the "dragon fruit".  Its taste is quite refreshing but does not match its name.  I would have never realized this plant from my youth and this exotic looking fruit were connected. So many fascinating things to discover in sunny Mexico.