Houghton Dragon Fruit variety comes from the genus Hylocereus and an unknown species. This variety of Dragon Fruit was named after Arthur Duvernoix Houghton, or A.D. Houghton (1870-1938). Another exciting bit of information on this variety of Dragon Fruit is it’s one of the parent plants used in two Paul Thomson seedlings called 7-S and 8-S. They were a hybrid using a Houghton and the Rixford variety. The 8-S seedlings were later renamed Voodoo Child by a nursery in Florida. Then a few years after that, 8-S was renamed by a grower in California Sugar Dragon. Voodoo Child and Sugar Dragon resemble one another and are very similar to their parent, Houghton.
The growth of this variety is a robust grower with meaty stems that are olive green. Thick small spines occur along the rib line of each branch and can extend over five feet. Stems resemble Hylocereus setaceus in size and shape.
Flowers of this variety are huge, with blooms over 15 inches across. When fully open it’s a few hours after sunset and closes at sunrise. The Houghton variety is typically the first and last to bloom, giving more flowing cycles, which means more fruit. Another positive aspect of this variety is its pollen can be used with almost any other Dragon Fruit plant to create fruit.
