Columnar cactus pitaya

What it is

This is Stenocereus queretaroensis, a fruit of the upright, column-shaped cacti of Mexico. A fruit is round to egg-shaped, about 6–8 cm (2½–3 in) long. The peel comes away to expose pulp dotted with small black seeds, which are eaten with the flesh.

The skin can split as the fruit ripens. Once the pulp is exposed, an unrefrigerated pitaya can become overripe in a day or two.

Where it comes from

The cactus grows wild and in cultivation in Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Querétaro and Zacatecas. Commercial planting began in the late nineteenth century, with the first organised plantings in the Sayula Basin in southwestern Jalisco. Its low need for water and fertilizer has made it attractive to small farms in Mexico’s dry lands.

How it's eaten where it grows

In Jalisco, cooks turn the fruit into desserts, ice cream, preserves and drinks. In Cofradía del Rosario, in the municipality of Amacueca, the local white pitaya has its own fair, first held in 2025. Vendors serve nieve de pitaya, a frozen fruit dessert, alongside alcoholic drinks made with the fruit.

The fair also has a comelón pitayero: a contest to see who can eat the most pitayas.

How it's grown

The pitayo cactus can reach 8 m (26 ft), with a distinct trunk and many upright branches. Growers start orchards from cut sections of stems. These plants flower and fruit a year after planting, but an orchard takes about 10 years to crop enough to pay.

When and where you'll find it

May is usually a good month to meet pitaya in Jalisco’s seasonal markets. In Guadalajara, sellers gather at Nueve Esquinas and on the esplanade of San Juan Bautista church in Mexicaltzingo. Fresh fruits rest on beds of alfalfa; preserves and frozen desserts give the local crop other forms.