Cactaceae in Taiwan
No cactus species are native to Taiwan, and many cannot tolerate the sever wet periods of summer, there area few that have been naturalized. There is a long history of using cactus (mostly Oputnia dillenii and Cereus jamacaru) along the coastlines as a military defense against a possible Chinese invasion. Actually, the use of these plants is quite genius as they are clearly very difficult to penetrate on foot once established! Also, many cactus species are grown in collections, often protected from rain in a greenhouse. We will not list such species, but we will list species that are known to withstand outdoor growing unprotected.
Photo |
Species |
Names |
Status |
Notes |
 |
Cereus jamacaru |
|
Naturalized. Throughout low elevation Taiwan. Most common around coast lines and military areas. |
Natural spread very limited probably due to lack of genetic diversity (species is self-sterile) and lack of good pollinators (night bloomer). Plants are well adapted to Taiwan, but lack the ability to reproduce, probably. Most plants are spread through vegetative means,and generally stay around the area the original plant was introduced. |
 |
Hylocereus undatus |
Dragon Fruit |
Naturalized. Can reproduce via vegetative and sexual reproduction (seed). |
This is a commercial crop in Taiwan, and has thus "escaped" human culture. It cannot contend with the weeds in Taiwan, however, so tends to stick around human maintained areas. |
 |
Opuntia cochenillifera |
|
|
|
 |
Opuntia dillenii |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
