Geographic Distribution:
Hylocereus undatus is native to tropical deciduous forests in Mexico, the West Indies, Central America, and northern Southern America and is now widely distributed in cultivation throughout the world.
The origin of the species is difficult to trace but it is thought that Native Americans moved this species extensively throughout the Americas. It was first introduced to Hawai‘i in 1830, it is now widespread in cultivation, and naturalized populations have become established in leeward regions of O‘ahu and Kaua‘i.
(Valiente-Banuet, A., R. Santos Gally, M.C. Arizmendi, and A. Casas. 2007. Pollination biology of the hemiepiphytic cactus Hylocereus undatus in the Tehuacan Valley, Mexico. Journal of Arid Environmnets 68(1): 1-8.)
(Staples, G. W. and D. R. Herbst. 2005. A Tropical Garden Flora: Plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawai’i.)