Dragon fruit, or pitaya, is the brilliantly coloured fruit of a sprawling, night-blooming climbing cactus — a hand-sized ovoid sheathed in vivid pink-red (or yellow) leathery scales that flare into green, leaf-like fins, opening to reveal soft white or magenta flesh freckled with hundreds of tiny, crunchy black seeds. Eaten raw and chilled — halved and scooped, or peeled and cubed — its mild, gently sweet, kiwi-and-pear-like flavour is far quieter than its dramatic looks suggest, making it a fruit prized first for spectacle, texture and nutrients.