Dragon Fruit Facts
Before I wrote this story, I knew about dragon fruit but I’d never seen a dragon fruit tree.
So, when the idea for the story came to me, just like Tomas in the book, I rushed home and typed it into the computer. And I saw the most wonderful looking tree, with huge cactus leaves that draped down like an upturned mop and vivid tendrils shooting out like bursts of flames.
As I started reading, it felt like this tree had magic already inside it, that it had come straight out of a story. And by the time I had finished reading, it was definitely going straight into one!
​
​
Here’s a little quiz about dragon fruit and the amazing trees they come from.
Two of the facts are false - can you spot them?
​
Photograph ©AuraCuevas
1. Eating too much red-colored dragon fruit can turn your pee red
​
​
2. Dragon fruit trees can flower 36 times a year
​
​
3. Each cactus arm on a dragon fruit tree can grow to up to 20ft long
​
​
4. They are full of little black seeds that you can eat
​
​
5. Dragon fruit trees rely on bats to pollinate them
​
​
6. Dragon fruit trees can grow high up on other trees
​
​
7. Dragon fruit trees are originally native to Mexico
​
​
8. Dragon fruit is also known as strawberry pear or pitaya.
​
​
9. Dragon fruits grow directly on the trunk
​
​
10. They have a moon-white flower as big as your head that blooms for just one night.
Can you find out some fun facts about other exotic fruit? Here are just a few to get you started
Tamarillo
Jabuticaba
Jackfruit
Durian
Cherimoya
Kiwano
All of the wonderful dragon fruit photos on this site were taken by Aura Cuevas
Quiz answers - Numbers 2 & 9 are false!
2 - Dragon fruit trees actually flower 3-6 times a year, which is probably just as well - imagine how many dragons Tomas would have otherwise!
9 - Dragon fruit don't grow directly on the trunks - but Jabuticaba do!