Common Name: Midnight Lady

General Information

Harrisia pomanensis is a spiny, evergreen, somewhat shrubby cactus with stems around 20 - 40mm in diameter that are more or less erect though sometimes arched and even prostrate[].
The plant is harvested fom the wild for local use as a food and source of materials.
Harrisia pomanensis is widely distributed, is abundant throughout its range, and there are no major threats affecting it. It also occurs in many protected areas. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2017)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

S. America - northern Argentina, Paraguay, southeastern Bolivia

Habitat

Understorey and edges of dry forests; at elevations up to 1,000 metres[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Shrub
Height	0.00 m
Pollinators	Moths, Bats
Self-fertile	Yes
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

The genus Harrisia is found in semi-arid tropical to subtropical regions of the Americas, growing in both the northern and southern hemispheres. There is usually a dry season at the cooler part of the year that can last up to 6 months. Annual precipitation is generally around 500 - 1,200mm. In the northernmost part of its range, in Florida, and in its southwestern range in Argentina and Bolivia, it experiences occasional freezing temperatures, and in cultivation light frosts (1-2 per year) experienced by species in Florida, seemed well-tolerated and not detrimental[].

The flowers open of a night time and are sweetly scented to attract bats and moths[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw[]. The white pulp is edible[].The globose fruits are slightly tuberculate, spineless, with a few scales[]. Harrisia fruits generally contain a sweet, edible, white pulp with hundreds to thousands of tiny seeds embedded in the pulp[]. The fruit usually tears open at the sides as it ripens to expose the inner pulp and seed[].

Flowers - boiled[].

Roots - cooked[]. Boiled or roasted[, ].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The spines are used as pins to insert dye when tatooing the skin[].

Propagation

Seed - usually germinates quickly and well without pre-treatment, though fresh seed may have a short dormancy of up to 8 weeks, Washing the seed in water prior to sowing can shorten germination time[].
Cuttings. Vegetative reproduction is frequent in nature when stems break and detach from the parent plant. The stems can proceed to produce roots along tissue nearest to the ground and produce a new plant[].

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