Care to Guess What This Is???

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I ran across these rather unusual looking “trees” or gnarly cactus like bushes on a recent trip to Tagaytay. I had NEVER seen them before, so of course I took these photos and asked someone what they were. My first guess that they were a form of aloe vera on steroids was incorrect. :) Think you know what they are? Then leave a comment BEFORE you read the other comments/answers. I am curious if I am in the minority and was just clueless… :)

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After taking a guess, you may go to this link. Cool, huh? :)

P.S. Gejo and Nacho, you are NOT allowed to guess what these are since your farms are right next door!

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Marketman

Marketman is a well-traveled management consultant who loves buying, cooking and eating good food. Read more »

99 Responses

  4. Looks like the plant that bears dragon fruit … I remember looking it up after you featured the fruit some time ago :D.

  6. dragonfruit :) they have tons of them off the road of tagaytay highway towards cavite. cheaper if you buy them off the road as opposed to the main road :)

  10. yes, it’s a dragonfruit tree. it was featured in an agri-businees TV show not too long ago.

  11. My first thought was to agree with you … giant aloe vera except that the shape was somewhat off.

    Second thought was the cigarillas veggie which, though I do love dining on it (especially when made with coconut cream and some other ingredients) …

    OK, curiosity finally got the better of me.

    DRAGONFRUIT?

    Ah well … remind me not to ever join that “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader” show. :)

    Something good to know, though …

  14. Definitely dragon fruit.I saw a farm somewhere in Silang,Cavite while riding my mountainbike (on our way to Tagaytay)

  17. I had no idea what this was but it looked like some kind of cactus. I googled dragon fruit and was amazed at how the fruit just jots out of those long leaves, or stems. Very interesting! I’d like to know what it tastes like.

  19. I’ve been reading your blog for some time now and its my first time to comment. I think thats the plant that bears the dragon fruit.

  20. I think these are dragon fruit trees. They are some sort of climbers. I saw something similar south of Hanoi.

  25. This is dragon fruit which I’m trying to grow in our backyard. In Central America, this is called Pitaya and the variety they have is more yellowish on the exterior, almost looking like a pygmy pineapple. I think they also it Pitaya in Northern Luzon.

  28. Dragon Fruit. Saw them on a recent trip to Tagaytay and didn’t what they were until we looked closer and saw the fruit!

  29. i thought they were sigarilyas! hahaha!

    so, where does the dragon fruit appear? it would be nice to see a photo with the fruit still attached to it. :D

  33. Definitely dragon fruit, most probably Hylocerus undatus. Yes it is a cactus, of the epiphytic variety; these are pretty hardy and you can almost treat them like a regular bush or even an orchid. :D They have nice flowers to boot, which I hear can be eaten as vegetables. My dad is also trying to grow them at home in the province.

  36. When a chairman of a big bank attended a cooking demo, and was told she had to drop the ingredient when the water was boiling, she asked “how do I know it is hot”….

    MM, she is a farmer and will know a dragonfruit, but then you will know when the water is boiling. It is ok to not know everything. Sure we get to ask the dumbest questions….so will they :)

    The first time I heard a cow “moooo” I was frightened!

  39. my friend had an old house in pasay which had this growing on their coconut tree. the white flowers bloom in the evening and one time he had the flowers cut and floated in his bath tub. bad idea. the flowers leached sap which was very difficult to remove. every time i eat a dragon fruit i always laugh remembering this

  40. Wow! They look like sigarilyas. But, I’ve seen my friend’s plant and it looks different from that.

  41. Genetically engineered sigarilyas “trees”? so that they can look smoother and more appealing? haha! i for the life of me cannot usually identify any crop from it’s foliage! :)

  42. Dragonfruit…but you have to have the patience for it takes FOREVER before the fruit is ready for picking. The taste somehow is a cross between a stawberry and a bland kiwi and a just a bit watery. Makes a nice addition to a fruit platter though. If you want to make a smoothie out of it, I would suggest using it with other fruits like a really ripe mango. Freeze the chunks of dragon fruit though before using it so you will need less liquid and ice.

  43. dragonfruit! i think there are also alot of farms even in the VizMin region…here’s hoping the price will go down in the Philippine market soon :D

  44. First saw these in Siem Riep and wondered what they were. What I had was sweet with a tad of tartness but was terribly disappointed later when I bought one in the US for $5 a piece and tasted quite flat. They are grown in large quantities in Vietnam as well.

    Makes an interesting garnish with a salad when cut crosswise with a thin pinkish red outer layer when peeled and teeny black dots inside the white inner part.

  47. Yeah, first time I’ve seen these guys was in Vietnam, didn’t know what they were. But hmmm, it was ok when I tried it.

  48. just like gil, i thought they were the cigarillas veggie (on steroids)…i’ve never seen the actual plant though, just the vegetable. i’ve also never seen the dragonfruit tree (plant)….
    see, i learned something new today!!! so don’t feel dopey. you just added new info to your
    memory bank.

  50. Yup. It is dragon fruit or pitaya. Hylocereus undatus (scientific name for the red dragon fruit) is a member of the night blooming cacti. I know there are two types (species) available in the market: the usual red and the not so usual yellow (smaller fruit size). It has a gorgeous cream colored flower that opens at night through the early mornings. Besides its edible fruit it can also be used as an ornamental hedge. There’s a school in Honolulu that makes use of this as its fence (the cacti are grown on top of a stone wall). These don’t bear fruit though since they’re not irrigated.

  62. Yep, it’s a dragonfruit. We saw lots of that when we honeymooned in Palawan or was it Davao? Come to think of it, I cant remember where we saw it na. :-)

  68. wow, dragon fruit trees=) my fave healthy fruit i opt for the magenta-colored flesh as it is high in anti-oxidant. it’s bland when not serve chilled. dragon fruit does great colon cleansing and it is best for diabetics=)

  69. Hi MM, dragonfruits. Cavite and Laguna are producing the fruit extensively. Cavite has developed wine, preserve, cider etc….

  71. Dragon fruit fr.cactus family… love em!! i get them her at Uwajimaya Market ,a little bit high on price,taste similar to kiwi, but better.

  72. ps.we used to have one growing in our yard (Phil) when i was young,my mom call it lady of the night ,they bloom at night and die the next day, we always picked the “dead” flowers, the unpicked turned into small cactus if we only knew,it will turn in to a fruit, i guess no one eat them then:)

  73. We have some growing in our yard. My father-in-law’s a frustrated farmer. Ours grow a red fruit (red inside). I thought the red ones are the bad ones, but in Singapore, they were selling it at a higher price. Not much difference in taste, though.

  74. it’s a dragonfruit plant, the fruit comes “out” protruding from the ends of the “stalks”. The leaves/stalks tends to droop down once it has a fruit :)

  76. Wow, Market Man, you’ve got a lot of followers, and many are well informed! I was with a friend today who is into farming and raising goats, we had just come from Gejo’s farm, he saw exactly that same plantation and he asked me what they were. So don’t feel too bad.

  78. Dragonfruit. They come in white and red/blood pink colour. Never liked them and never will. I do not see the fascination with that fruit. Texture-wise I expected it to have a crisp bite, but everytime I try it is always a bit on the mushy. Taste-wise too, not something you would crave. It is a fruit one should not bother to buy. Spend your money on a ripe mango instead.

  79. i have them as houseplants. and one year, they flowered twice, but alas no fruit. the flowers only last for that brief night and then die off. i heard they don’t flower that often is that true? maybe that is why the fruit is costly.

  80. it’s a dragon fruit tree :) they’ve been featured in a few local tv shows here in the Philippines already i think one of them is Ating Alamin by Gerry Geronimo… just sayin.

  82. Dragon fruit plants, I have several of these in our backyard in Mindoro for a year now but no fruits yet.

  83. Dragonfruit! We used to have this in our backyard and the flower blooms at midnight. These are grown in Vietnam where I saw a lot of dragonfruit farms!

  86. It seems dragonfruit and Queen of the Night (huge flower that opens around 7pm and shuts down by dawn) are the same plant then?

  91. pitayas by the look of it. so, they’re growing em now in tagaytay eh. heard somewhere that there are farms for these also in ilocos and nueva ecija area

  97. I never thought this is how a dragonfruit plant looks like sans fruit. My first guess upon seeing it was , wow, those are really impressive epiphylium cactus! I have one hanging in my basement this winter. And it has giant 16 cm yellow flowers in spring!
    But if a majority of your readers say it’s a dragonfurit plant, then I’m really impressed about this dragonfurit plant even ifI never liked its bland fruit, even in salad! And they’re so expensive here in Montreal!

  98. It is dragonfruit. There is a HUGE farm of that in Indang, Cavite that produces all three varieties – white, red/pink and yellow. We were there August of last year and bought several boxes of the fruit and around 30 stems that we tried to plant & grow here in Bicol. The plants only survived but did not bear any fruits :(

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