H. megalanthus (Columbiana)

Scientific Name: 
H. megalanthus

Common Name: 
Columbiana, Yellow Dragon

• White-fleshed fruit with yellow skin and exceptional quality, considered the best flavored of all pitahayas.
• Origin: Columbia 
• Fruit: oblong; very small, 160 g, rarely reaching 200 g; skin yellow, flesh translucent white, seeds large; rind thick and spiny, with spines needing to be removed during harvest, and no bracts; pulp firm, extremely sweet, flavor excellent; 21 Brix; 150 to 180 days from bloom to harvest in Southern California; harvest November to February. 
• Plant: stems thin and long, triangular, with 3 well-defined ridges, light green; areoles have 1-3 conic spines, 2-3 mm long; segment between areoles slightly concave, 36.27 mm long, giving the stem a "bony" appearance; flowers long and narrow, tubular, petals white, calyx light green; anthers light yellow, stigma lobes light green. 
• Tolerance to cold and heat low; usually struggles in full sun; commercial potential excellent because it fruits in the off-season; protected environment needed.