Pitahaya is pink inside. Pitahaya is a healthy and tasty fruit. What's good about dragon fruit?
Slide journey
1. Dear guys, hello!!!The cheerful, warm and carefree summer has flown by unnoticed, and the school year is coming. You have all had a good rest and can begin your studies with renewed vigor. Moms have already bought each of you notebooks, diaries, pencil cases, pens, pencils, and rulers. With excitement and pride you put all these things into brand new briefcases. And each of you is ready to go to school and get into the magical land of Knowledge. But today our conversation with you will not be about this wonderful country, but about those items without which traveling through the Land of Knowledge would become impossible.
2. You are all accustomed to the words notebook, pencil, ruler, pen, you use these objects every day, take them in your hands, do things with their help homework. N the thought never occurred to any of youthink about how these words came about? What did they originally mean? Where did they come from in our language?
Collecting briefcase or doing homework, you guys hardly suspect how many interesting things your faithful assistants—school supplies—could tell about yourself. But their history is very interesting.
3. So, let's take a look, guys, at your briefcase. What's there? Pencil, pen, notebooks, compass, ruler, eraser... Big farm! These are the things you use every day at school in every lesson.They look simple and familiar...
4. Guys, I’ll start my story about school supplies with such an item ascompass.How many of you know what it is and why it serves the students? (The guys answer.)
Guys, what word is consonant with the word compass? ( The guys answer.) That's right: a circus. After all, both words come from the same Latin “circulus”, which means “circle”, “circle”.
5. As you know, the circus has a round arena, but we know the purpose of the compass: to draw circles.
Compass your dashing circus performer,
Draws a circle with one foot
And the other one pierced the paper,
He clung on and didn’t take a step.
There were so many compasses among his distant ancestors! One of them, for example, was found during excavations in France. It lay in the ground for more than two thousand years! Perhaps compasses existed much earlier. Because on the walls and domes of temples and houses, on the carved bowls and goblets of the ancient inhabitants of Babylon and Assyria, such even circles have been preserved that it becomes clear that this could not have happened without the help of a compass. And these states existed about three thousand years ago.
But how did people first get a smooth, round outline? (The guys answer.) First, the circle was made using a thread: one end was secured, and a sharp stick was attached to the other. You twist the stretched thread around a fixed center - you get a circle.
The thread was replaced by a wooden board with holes. But she had one significant drawback. With its help it was possible to draw a circle of only a certain radius. For other circles it was necessary to make new devices. The ancient inventors had to think about how to combine circles of any radius in one tool.
6. Thus, the most ancient relative of the compass with two long spreading legs was born. He alone could depict circles of various sizes. But the most interesting thing is that the ancestors of the compass were not only excellent drawers, but also served as woodcarvers. Instead of the usual stylus, a cutter was inserted into one leg of this instrument to apply a design to wooden product. One of these inventions was found during excavations in Novgorod.
Well, of course, you are familiar with the modern brothers of the compass. The simplest of them is a compass, nicknamed “goat’s leg”. Without an insert pencil he will not draw a single circle.
There is also a measuring compass. It has both legs with needles. It is convenient for them to measure lines with great accuracy, transferring their length to a ruler.
7. Guys, since when do you think humanity has been usingrulers? (children's answers) LHoarwood - smooth planed planks - was used by the ancient Egyptians when building their pyramids.
Russian scribes also could not do without a ruler. In books XVIII centuries, the name of the great-grandmother of the ruler is often found - frames. She represented wooden frame the size of a leaf, onto which the threads were pulled tightly. Having placed the frame on a sheet of paper, the scribe drew along the threads with a bone stick, squeezing out lines. That is why the manuscripts of that time are striking in their evenness of lines and clear intervals.
The older sisters of our today's ruler - wooden rulers with divisions - appeared not so long ago, after in 1792, at the proposal of the Paris Academy of Sciences, the meter was adopted as a unit of length.
In the old days, rulers were highly respected! Not every tree was taken to make them. Mostly pear was used. But only a true master of his craft could select and process the wood so that the ruler did not change its shape. The thickness of the ruler was also strictly defined: two millimeters. It was this thickness that made it possible to draw the straightest lines. Knowledgeable people ordered rulers only from Paris.
8. Modern rulers are made on high-precision machines from a wide variety of materials - not only wood, but also plastic and steel. The rulers have a large family. Among them there is also a ruler that looks like the letter “T”. Her name is Reyshina. She rests her shoulders against the edge of the drawing board, and slides her foot along the sheet. No matter how many lines you draw with it, they will all be parallel. And then there are squares, one of the angles of all squares is necessarily straight, equal to ninety degrees.
9. In 1770, the famous English philosopher, chemist and public figure Joseph Priestley, who discovered many chemical substances, came up with a device that no schoolchild can do without now.
My name is - rubber,
Little grimy back.
But my conscience is clear:
I erased the blot from the sheet.
The eraser has a fickle character. He always wants to change everything. You use it very often. It doesn’t matter whether you write with a pen or draw with a pencil. An eraser will erase everything with great pleasure. It is often also called an eraser. After all, the eraser is made of rubber. Guys, do you know why an eraser is called an eraser? (The guys answer.)
This is because the rubber from which erasers are made is made of rubber, which in Latin is called “gum elasticum”. This is where the name “eraser” comes from, which means “elastic”. Who knows what rubber is? (The guys answer.) The word "rubber" in the language of the Amazon Indians is pronounced "kao-chu" and means "tears of a tree."
10. Rubber is made from the viscous sap of the tropical Hevea tree.
Nowadays, erasers are also made from rubber, but only artificial, it is extracted from ordinary potatoes, sawdust and even oil, it is much cheaper. So erasers come in potato, petroleum or sawdust erasers. True, alcohol is first obtained from potatoes, and only then artificial rubber is produced from alcohol at a chemical plant. To ensure that the eraser erases well, chalk is added to the rubber. So if you don’t want holes to be rubbed into your notebooks, handle erasers more carefully.
11.And your other friend
Wooden pencil.
He is yellow, red, blue,
It's stuffed in the middle
If you sharpen it,
You can draw whatever you want!
Guys, what do you think, in the old days, many years ago, what did a simple pencil look like? (The guys answer.)
His story is like this. Previously, artists drew with a silver stick, and schoolchildren wrote with lead. But the lead stick left a gray, unclear mark on the paper. And it was uncomfortable to hold it in your hand. Therefore, it was placed in a leather tube, and when the stick was washed, the skin at the end had to be cut off. By the way, the pencil is still translated from German language means "lead stick".
Three hundred years ago lead was replaced by graphite. Graphite is a dark gray or black mineral used to make pencils, artificial diamonds and lubricants. Around 1790, the Australians and the French independently invented the pencil lead. It was from this time that the writing instrument industry arose.
Guys, do any of you know howis a pencil made? (The guys answer.)
12. For it to be born, Siberian cedar is needed. Thanks to it, the pencil does not become shaggy or stubborn when sharpening, but cuts smoothly and evenly. True, factories have now begun to produce synthetic pencils of different colors. In the future they may replace wooden ones.
13. To make a pencil, you need to put graphite into a stick. To buy graphite for pencils they go to the Urals, to the mountains. But it's not so easy to get it. You have to go deep underground. In order for the graphite rod to be stronger and harder, clay is also needed. Depending on the amount of clay, pencils come in different numbers.
But that's not all. To make graphite move more easily on paper and leave a greasy mark, fat and glue are added to the graphite mass.
14. I Greetings, friends.
I - ballpoint pen.
I can write on the run,
But I can't live without you.
Who is ready to be friends with me,
He won't regret it -
He has so many good words
He will be able to write.
The history of the ballpoint pen is no less interesting. Almost three millennia passed before the pen accepted modern look. Three thousand years ago in Asia and ancient Mesopotamia they wrote with a sharpened wedge stick, squeezing out an image on damp clay.
15.V Ancient Rus' birch bark letters were scratched with a “writing” - a metal or bone tool, rounded at one end and pointed at the other. The rounded end of the writing served to smooth out mistakes, as it was filled with wax. Similar “stationery” was once used in Ancient Rome; their writing instrument was made of metal and also had a flat end for erasing unnecessary notes. It was called “style” or “stylus”. At the same time, bronze styluses were used in China.
Years passed... But even when paper was invented in China, there was no trace of a pen, but a pencil appeared first. Or rather, the older brother of the modern pencil. But you already know the history of its creation.
16. When ink was invented, they began to write with sharply sharpened bird feathers, most often goose feathers. Then, instead of goose feathers, they began to use steel feathers mounted on a wooden rod.
17. The steel pen became the prototype of a writing instrument called a fountain pen. The ink was drawn into the pen's canister using a special piston. Some people still use such pens now; they are often produced complete with gold nibs. Such fountain pens are produced for beauty, to give as a gift to someone.
18. Since the end of the 19th century centuries, chemists from all over the world have been trying to come up with a composition for ballpoint pen paste. This was only achieved in 1938 by the Hungarian chemist Josef Biro. It is to him that we owe the appearance of the most comfortable pen in the world! And in 1943, industrial production was established for the first time in Argentina ballpoint pens. Guys, which of you will tell us how a ballpoint pen works? (The guys answer.)
19. The main thing in it is a ball, small, steel, almost invisible. When the ball is moved across the paper, it rotates and is smeared with paste, leaving a mark. Everything ingenious is simple.
20. To have somewhere to write,
Guys, do you know what people wrote on in ancient times?
(The guys answer.)
21. Even before paper was invented, in China and some countries Southeast Asia they wrote on bamboo tablets, and in ancient Babylon they used baked clay tablets for this. IN Ancient India They wrote on palm leaves, while Europeans used tanned animal skins for writing.
22. The making of paper is usually associated with the name of the Chinese Cai Lun and dates back to 105 AD. However, paper began to be produced in China even earlier. Just Tsai Lun, being educated person, generalized and improved the method of making paper already known in China.
In the Middle East, Samarkand became the center of development of paper production. At the end VIII centuries, the Arabs adopted the method of paper production from the Chinese and spread it throughout Europe.
23. In Russia, paper production began much later, only in XVI century under Ivan the Terrible. Peter gave a powerful impetus to the development of paper production I . To encourage domestic production, he banned foreign paper in offices and ordered the construction of several paper factories near Moscow and St. Petersburg... Guys, what do you think, three hundred years ago, students had textbooks in schools, and if they did, what kind? (The guys answer.)
24. The very first book of all schoolchildren is the ABC.With its help, children learn to assimilate printed and handwritten letters, their sound meanings, and master reading syllables and words. It is known that the primer appeared in the 16th century, and
25. In Russia, the first alphabet was printed in 1534 by Ivan Fedorov, that is, almost five hundred years ago. Ushinsky's textbook " Native word", was published in 1864, and children studied from it for more than half a century.
26. The ABC, published by L.N., has not yet been forgotten. Tolstoy in 1875, because this is a real encyclopedia in four volumes, which included not only an ABC book, but also a large number of stories, fables and fairy tales.
27. The story is no less interestingschool diary.The word “diary” itself appeared in the Petrine era. But they began to use this school subject after the reform of 1930-1934 in the last century. The first Soviet diaries were not as colorful and bright as mothers buy you now. They had a cover of white or gray, pages made of thick and rough paper, on which it was good to write with an ink pen, and they cost 13-14 kopecks (depending on the type of paper).
28. Our meeting has come to an end. Many discoveries and victories await all of you this academic year. Tomorrow, work will begin to boil in school classrooms: the voices of teachers will sound, the students will be joyfully greeted by the desks that have missed them over the summer, the chalk will creak, the school corridors will be filled with the usual hum...
29. I sincerely wish you that the path to knowledge does not seem long and difficult to you, that you go to every lesson with pleasure and joy! Once again, I congratulate you on the beginning of the new school year! Good luck to you all, hard work, patience and success!!!
The script and slide presentation were compiled by the librarian of the arts department of the Moscow Library. M. A. Ulyanova Reshetnikova O. G.
A child's foot is a more subtle issue. Firstly, it grows quickly, not only in length, but also in breadth. Secondly, the skin of children is much more delicate than that of adults, which means that small feet require space and breathing - for this, manufacturers often add an additional 0.8-1 along the length of the insole, especially when it comes to shoes for the cold season . Thirdly, with all this, boots, shoes, sandals must fit tightly enough, providing the foot with the necessary support.
Therefore, responsible parents approach the selection of shoe sizes for a child or teenager most carefully. Let's figure out how to simplify and make this choice more accurate.
How to measure a child's foot length
An important note: it is advisable to measure your feet at least once every 2-3 months, even if you do not plan to buy shoes right now. This way you can get an idea of the dynamics of foot growth specifically for your baby and prevent annoying mistakes with the size.
Yes, we remind you: up to the age of 3 years, the leg grows at a rate of 2-3 sizes per year. From 3 to 6 years - approximately 2 sizes. During school years - by 1-2 sizes annually.
So, having realized the importance of getting it to size, we arm ourselves with a blank sheet of paper, a pencil or fountain pen, a ruler and measure.
Measuring the size of a child's foot, photo 1
1. Ask your child to place his right foot on a piece of paper and trace it. Keep your pencil or pen strictly vertical! Repeat with the left.
2. Using a ruler, measure the distance from the center of the heel to the extreme point thumb. On the right and left legs, the results may differ (sometimes the difference reaches 6-10 mm!). When choosing a size, be guided by for greater results.
Measuring the size of a child's foot, photo 4
Important points when measuring:
- take measurements in the afternoon - preferably in the late afternoon. Usually by the end of the day the leg swells a little and increases in size;
- if you intend to purchase closed shoes (boots, shoes, etc.), measure the length of the foot in the sock;
- When measuring, the child should stand, leaning on the leg whose size you are interested in. The foot under load becomes longer and wider.
The result of this operation is that you will receive the shoe size in the so-called metric system, in millimeters or centimeters. But this result is rather intermediate. The point is that metric system, in which the shoe size is equal to the actual length of the foot, is not used by all manufacturers. For example, it is quite popular in Japan, but you are unlikely to make online purchases in the Land of the Rising Sun.
But in the West (as in the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Kazakhstan) other sizing systems are more common.
How to choose a child's shoe size
Children's and teenage shoes for girls and boys
| Foot size, cm. | Russian size | USA (US) | Great Britain (UK) | Europe (EU) | China (CN) |
| 9,5 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 9,5 |
| 10 | 16,5 | 1,2 | 0 - 1 | 16,5 | 10 |
| 10,5 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 10,5 |
| 11 | 18 | 2,5 | 1,5 | 18 | 11 |
| 11,5 | 19 | 3 | 2,5 | 19 | 11,5 |
| 12 | 19,5 | 4 | 3 | 19,5 | 12 |
| 12,5 | 20 | 5 | 4 | 20 | 12,5 |
| 13 | 21 | 5,5 | 4,5 | 21 | 13 |
| 13,5 | 22 | 6 | 5 | 22 | 13,5 |
| 14 | 22,5 | 6,5 | 5,5 | 22,5 | 14 |
| 14,5 | 23 | 7 | 6 - 6,5 | 23 | 14,5 |
| 15 | 24 | 8 | 7 | 24 | 15 |
| 15,5 | 25 | 8,5 | 7,5 | 25 | 15,5 |
| 16 | 25,5 | 9 | 8 | 25,5 | 16 |
| 16,5 | 26 | 9,5 | 8,5 | 26 | 16,5 |
| 17 | 27 | 10 - 10,5 | 9 - 9,5 | 27 | 17 |
| 17,5 | 28 | 11 | 10 | 28 | 17,5 |
| 18 | 28,5 | 11,5 | 10,5 | 28,5 | 18 |
| 18,5 | 29 | 12 | 11 | 29 | 18,5 |
| 19 | 30 | 12,5 | 11,5 | 30 | 19 |
| 19,5 | 31 | 13 | 12 | 31 | 19,5 |
| 20 | 31,5 | 13,5 | 12,5 | 31,5 | 20 |
| 20,5 | 32 | 1 | 13 | 32 | 20,5 |
| 21 | 33 | 1,5 - 2 | 1 | 33 | 21 |
| 21,5 | 34 | 2,5 | 1,5 | 34 | 21,5 |
| 22 | 34,5 | 3 | 2 | 34,5 | 22 |
| 22,5 | 35 | 3,5 | 2,5 | 35 | 22,5 |
| 23 | 36 | 4 - 4,5 | 3 - 3,5 | 36 | 23 |
| 23,5 | 37 | 5 | 4 | 37 | 23,5 |
Approximate shoe sizes for babies
| Child's age | Shoe length, cm. | Shoe width, cm. |
| 0-6 months | 11 | 6 |
| 6-12 months | 125 | 6,5 |
| 12-18 months | 14 | 7 |
| 18-24 months | 15,5 | 7,5 |
| 24-36 months | 16,7 | 8,7 |
How to choose the size of shoes for a child
This question is no less important than the question of size. After all, children have feet different widths, which means that shoes that are ideal for one child will dangle on the feet of another or squeeze a third, although all the kids seem to wear the same size.
Unfortunately, the child himself often cannot clearly say whether the shoes are pressing on him or not. The fact is that a layer of fat remains on a child’s foot, which reduces sensitivity, and therefore the baby simply does not feel how the sandals or boots are pinching, deforming the foot.
Dealing with the width of a particular child’s feet is the task of his parents. We'll show you how to do this.
Children's shoes are available in five types of completeness within each size:
- Narrow - designated as N
- Medium - M
- Wide - X
- X-Wide - XW
- XX-Wide (Well, very wide!) - XXW
European designations are also possible:
- C - very, very narrow foot
- D - very narrow foot
- E - narrow foot
- F - foot in Central European fullness
- G - the foot is slightly wider than the average European one
- H - wide foot
When purchasing shoes for your child, be sure to look at the corresponding index letters (they are usually located next to the size designation). If there is no letter, it is assumed by default that the shoe is designed for a medium, standard foot.
I wonder who thought of attaching an eraser to a pencil?
The word pencil from Turkic is translated as: “kara” - black, “dash” - stoneThe ancestor of the pencil was a cooled coal from a fire. It is for them ancient man stone age on the wall of the cave drew a black line, and then began to draw cave paintings
The first description of a graphite pencil was mentioned in 1565. One day, shepherds from Britain noticed that the wool of sheep turned black if they rubbed against local rocks around Borrowdale Lake. Local residents realized that these were deposits of lead and black stone. They abandoned sheep farming and took up a new business - selling “black stone”. The first to place rods made of black stone (graphite) in a wooden shell was proposed in 1790 by the French chemist Nicolas Conte. He developed a recipe for mixing graphite with clay and producing high-quality rods from these materials. Conte realized that by changing the proportions of the mixture, it was possible to make rods of varying hardness
The familiar hexagonal shape of the pencil body was proposed at the end of the 19th century by Count Lothar von Fabercastle, noting that pencils round section often roll off inclined writing surfaces. In 2001, the Faber-Castle company released the world's largest pencil, its length reaches 12 meters and its weight is 24 centners.
Here I found something else on the net, that the same company - only in 2002 in Singapore - installed a pencil 65 feet high... Located somewhere near the capital - Kuala Lumpur... This pencil was recorded by the Guinness Book of Records - Like the Biggest in the World
She also owns the authorship small pencil in the world. Its size is even smaller than the phalanx of an adult finger - slightly less than two centimeters 
Original patent Limpena-Pencil with eraser
2/3 of the material that makes up a simple pencil goes to waste when sharpening it. This prompted the American Alonzo Cross to create a metal pencil in 1869. The graphite rod was placed in a metal tube and could be extended to the appropriate length
It would seem that what else can be improved in the design of a pencil? But the imagination of inventors knows no bounds. For example, someone came up with a pencil holder with a built-in tape for notes. Its essence is that in the core of the writing device there is a cavity in which a wound ribbon of paper is placed. And enterprising Americans built “long-lasting” chewing gum into a pencil combined with an eraser instead of an eraser.
Let me add:
Artists and architects do this: An eraser (not necessarily rubber) is attached to a pencil using a thread or rubber band. By the time a pencil with graphite or other “filler” (sanguine, pastel) is ground down, when sharpening, the “eraser” is also cleaned
This method was known far before da Vinci (he used this device)
This device has a very simple need.
As you know, many artists and architects are rather absent-minded people. Therefore, in order to avoid “downtime” in work due to absent-mindedness, a tool (method) was invented that does not separate things necessary from each other.
One unusual legend. It tells about ancient times and about the mortal battle between people and dragons. Despite their size and strength, dragons lost battle after battle. And every time the exhausted giant could no longer spew out flames at people, he fell out of his mouth. amazing fruit . IN different parts In Thailand, this exotic fruit goes by different names - dragon heart, dragon fruit, prickly pear, keumangkon, pitahaya, pitaya. According to legend, the taste of this fruit was so amazing that because of it, dragons were exterminated in Thailand. A fruit plant remains and grows safely on the lands of the kingdom. And only the scales of its fruits remind modern Thais of the sad “dragon” past...
Pitaya fruit: botanical description
Pitaya (Pitahaya) name some species of plants from the Cactus family (mainly the genus Hylocereus - “sweet pitaya”). Wild pitaya is a climbing vine-like epiphytic cactus, common in Mexico, South and Central America. The plant has a three-lobed stem reaching a height of 10 meters. Today the plant is cultivated in many countries of Southeast Asia - Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, China, Taiwan, Japan, as well as in Hawaii, Israel and northern Australia.
As befits a real dragon fruit, pitaya blooms only at night. Like giant night moths, pitahaya is covered with large white flowers of a characteristic Cactus shape. The fragrant smell of blooming pitaya fills the magical night air of Thailand with special magic, as if lifting the veil from the Mysterious World of Dragons. The ripened fruit is the same “ dragon heart"- consists of a soft-tasting, creamy, white pulp.
Pitaya is well adapted to life in tropical climates. 30 - 50 days after flowering, fruits set. IN good years It is possible to get up to 6 harvests from one plant. In countries neighboring Thailand, where pitahaya is grown on an industrial scale, up to 30 tons are obtained per hectare exotic fruit annually.
The pitaya fruit has an oval or elongated shape and weighs 150 - 800 grams. Fruit size, flesh color (cream, white, purple, pink) and skin color (yellow-orange to purple) vary depending on the plant species. The most common species are yellow pitahaya, Costa Rican pitahaya and red pitahaya. The pulp of the fruit contains many small black seeds rich in valuable lipids. However, in order to “extract” these lipids, the seeds must be chewed - they are not digested in their “whole” form. The skin of the dragon fruit is inedible.
Beneficial properties of pitaya (pitaya)
In ripened fruit pitaya contains a lot useful substances: phosphorus, protein, vitamins C, B, iron, calcium, niacin, riboflavin. Eating pitaya normalizes intestinal function, has a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system, and helps with stomach disorders and bloating. The seeds of the fruit contain a lot of tannin, which strengthens vision and helps with diabetes. In addition, pitaya is low-calorie - it can be safely eaten during a diet.
IN folk medicine It is believed that pitahaya:
- heals cuts and wounds well;
- improves vision;
- increases appetite;
- strengthens memory;
- promotes weight loss.
A medicine is prepared from freshly cut stems of pitaya flowers that acts on the cardiovascular system as an antispasmodic and circulatory stimulant. Thais use the juice from the stems of the plant as an anthelmintic (be careful: the juice is caustic and dangerous if overdosed).
Is pitaya harmful?
The beneficial substances contained in pitaya can cause allergic reactions, if you approach the consumption of Thai fruit “with fanaticism.” Do not eat pitahaya in large quantities! It is also recommended to chew hard-to-digest seeds thoroughly." dragon hearts».
How to eat pitahaya (pitaya)
The skin of pitaya is easily separated from the pulp with a knife. The fruit is cut like a melon and placed in a dish. Eat It is more convenient to scoop out the sweet and sour pitaya pulp with a small spoon. Fruit peel inedible! “Dragon heart” is eaten not only in its raw form. Jams and jams are made from it, and wine is made. Pitahaya- an important ingredient in many other dishes: yoghurts, sauces, sweets, ice cream. The flowers of the plant are brewed with tea. Raw pitaya pulp quenches thirst well.
Storing pitaya
Buying pitaya, make sure that fruit was fresh - it spoils very quickly. Shelf life in the refrigerator is no more than 3 days.
Pitaya (in another pronunciation - pitahaya) is an exotic fruit, the fruit of climbing vine-like cacti of the genus Hylocereus. Pitaya's natural habitat includes Mexico, Central and South America. The plant is widely cultivated in Southeast Asia, Japan, China, Taiwan, Israel and Australia.
By appearance This large fruit oval-shaped, pink, red or yellow, covered with leafy growths resembling scales. According to Eastern legends, the defeated dragon spewed pitaya from its mouth before its death. Visual similarities and legends have given the fruit alternative names: dragon heart, dragon eye, dragon or dragon fruit, dragon fruit.
Places of distribution
The homeland of dragon fruit is considered to be the west of the central part of the American continent (from Mexico to Peru). The exotic cactus was mentioned by the Aztecs, who already ate its pulp in the 13th century. edible fruits and used small black seeds as a seasoning for other dishes.
Interesting fact!
There are versions that allow a different origin of pitahaya. But since the plant has been actively cultivated for centuries in many countries, and has been successfully naturalized on several continents, it is not easy to talk about its roots with certainty.
How does dragon fruit grow?
Dragonfruit loves dry tropical climates with no a large number precipitation. Can't stand it subzero temperatures. In countries of origin, it is found at an altitude of about one and a half thousand meters above sea level in dry forests and coastal areas.
In the natural environment
Hylocereus in nature are epiphytic plants; they grow on other plants - phorophytes. Epiphytic plants exist due to photosynthesis and moisture from environment and don't borrow nutrients at the support plant. Aerial roots help the climbing cactus climb trees. The stems hang down or creep along the ground.
In agriculture
Dragon fruit plantations in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, China and other exotic fruit producing countries look the same. These are fields with rows of high vertical supports, on the tops of which bunches of spreading stems of cacti are attached. Some manufacturers use at night electric lighting for illumination of beds in order to extend the fruiting season of pitahaya.
The plant is cultivated not only for its edible fruits, it is also used in landscape design, for example, as a hedge.
Appearance of the plant
The plant has three-lobed winged stems of dark green color, reaching 8 cm in diameter and 10 m in length, with a large number of aerial roots. Dragon cactus spines small size and often soft, in some cases pitaya is not prickly at all. The flowers are white, beautiful and very large (25 cm in diameter) and have a pleasant aroma, but they open only once for a few hours at night.
Fruiting
Hylocereus are mostly self-pollinating plants. Cross-pollination, if necessary, is provided by moths and bats at the moment of short-term flowering of dragonfruit. After about a month or a month and a half, the fruits ripen on it. The ripening of dragon fruit is characterized by a change in skin color - from green to yellow, red or bright pink. The harvest is harvested 4–5 days after the color of the fruit changes. Fruits for export are collected a little earlier, not quite ripe, on the 2nd - 3rd day. Some farms receive 5–6 harvests per year from each plant.
Pests and diseases of Hylocereus
The cactus is practically not attacked by insects or other pests either in Central and South America or in Southeast Asia. The only thing dragonfruit is afraid of is high humidity due to heavy rains or excessive watering, resulting in fungal diseases and stem rotting. May sometimes appear dark spots on the fruits. This feature influences the plant’s choice of areas with a dry climate for its habitat.
Pitahaya growers have to fight to keep dragon fruits from being eaten by birds.
Pitahaya fruit
The dragon fruit is shaped like an oval. It is close in size to a large apple or orange. Its weight reaches 200-700 grams, and sometimes can approach a kilogram. The textured and bright surface of the unusual fruit, red, pink or yellow, covered with plant scales, truly resembles the heart of a mythical monster. Inside there is homogeneous white or purple pulp with small black seeds, evenly distributed throughout the entire volume of the fruit.
Varieties
Prickly pears, as pitaya fruits are also called, grow on three types of climbing cacti.
Hylocereus undatus is a red pitahaya with white flesh.
Hylocereus megalanthus produces yellow dragon fruit with white flesh.
Hylocereus costaricensis (Hylocereus Costarican) produces red fruits, which are distinguished by the red color of the flesh.
Important!
The pigment of Costa Rican pitaya is very bright and durable. It is used as food coloring. When the fruit is eaten, it colors the mouth, tongue, lips and hands brightly. pink and does not wash off immediately. Be prudent.
How to select and preserve pitaya?
Pitahaya is a delicate fruit with a watery consistency that is difficult to transport. Having done long haul When shipped to Russia, the product most often loses its true quality. Therefore, it is better to try dragon fruit while on vacation, for example in Thailand or Indonesia.
Selection of fruit at the market
Local residents recommend choosing the brightest colored fruit at the market. Then you need to check it by touch. If it is hard, it means it is not yet ripe; if it is too soft, it may already be overripe and beginning to deteriorate. The cost of red pitaya in the Thai market is about 35 baht per kilogram (about 67 rubles). Yellow dragon fruit usually costs more. It is rarer because it is grown in smaller quantities.
Buying pitaya in Russia
Despite the difficulties of the transportation process, the southern fruit can also be found in Russian supermarkets or online stores. The cost of pitaya in a specialized online store for tropical fruits is about 900 rubles. for 1 kg. This weight accounts for 2 – 3 fruits.
Storage
Pitahaya should be purchased fresh and kept in the refrigerator. It keeps well for a couple of days. It is not recommended to store fruit longer than 4 - 5 days.
What does dragon fruit taste like?
The taste of the fruit is not very rich, sweetish with a small amount of acid. When compared, it is partly similar to kiwi (including small black seeds), partly reminiscent of a banana. Pitaya pulp, regardless of color - red or white - is quite watery. The fruit is 85% water. In its structure, it is a soft mass, not divided into any internal segments. Thanks to these qualities, pitaya pleasantly quenches thirst in hot climates. Locals consume it in the form of juice, adding lemon or water.
Eating
The pulp of pitahaya is mainly eaten. The seeds have a nutty flavor and are rich in tannins. Although they are eaten along with the fruit, the human body does not absorb them. To do this they need to be chewed. Fragrant flowers Hylocerius is brewed into tea, and in China it is also used in vegetable soups. The skin of the fruit is not edible and may contain pesticides.
How to peel dragon fruit?
There are several ways to clean pitaya.
- You can just cut the fruit sharp knife lengthwise and eat everything inside with a spoon.
- You can use a knife to divide the pitahaya pulp inside the resulting halves into squares and turn out the peel (as you do with mangoes).
- You can cut the fruit into slices along with the skin and then separate it by pulling the tip. In this case, you can eat pitaya slices with a fork, skewer, or simply with your hands.
Important!
Pitaya must be cooled before serving. This will reveal its taste in a favorable light.
Cooking methods.
Fruit salads are prepared from pitaya, jams are made, juice and alcoholic drinks are made.
A fruit dessert made from the heart of a dragon will be truly exotic at your holiday.
Recipe!
To prepare the salad, wash the pitaya fruits and divide them lengthwise into two equal parts. Carefully remove the pulp and cut it into medium-sized cubes. Add fruit of your choice, suitable for the setting, season and accompanying drinks - sweet or with a touch of acid. Berries and tropical fruits with a characteristic taste and bright color– strawberries, raspberries, kiwi, mango, etc. Use the empty halves as a serving container. Place the fruit mixture in them. If desired, top the dessert with fruit juice, yogurt, whipped cream or ice cream. Decoration for festive table ready!
Beneficial properties of pitaya
Indigenous people South America Pitaya has long been used in medical purposes. Her beneficial properties modern scientists also recognize.
100 grams of pitaya contains:
- proteins – 0.5 g;
- fats – 0.5 g;
- carbohydrates – 13 g.
Dragon fruit also contains a number of vitamins, minerals and trace elements. Per 100 grams there are:
- vitamin B1 (thiamine) – 0.03 mg;
- vitamin B2 (riboflavin) – 0.04 mg;
- vitamin B3 or PP (niacin) – 0.2 mg;
- vitamin C (ascorbic acid) – 4 mg;
- potassium – 112 mg;
- calcium – 10 mg;
- phosphorus – 16 mg;
- iron – 0.3 mg;
- water – 85 g.
Note!
After eating Costa Rican pitaya with purple flesh, a person's urine turns red. This phenomenon scared the Spanish colonizers of South America away from the exotic fruit. They were afraid that the fetus was causing internal bleeding. However, it does not cause any harm to health. It's all about the persistent pigment of Costa Rican pitaya.
Pitaya is a low calorie product. 100 grams of fruit has energy value about 50 kcal.
It contains a lot of fiber and lipids. The fruit is well absorbed by the human body, has a beneficial effect on fat metabolism and lowers cholesterol in the blood. Therefore, pitahaya can be included in diets for diabetes, weight loss, problems with the stomach and intestines, the cardiovascular system and metabolism. It is a natural antioxidant and neutralizes free radicals.
The tannin contained in dragon fruit seeds is beneficial for the eyes.
Pitaya pulp has healing properties, promotes skin regeneration and eliminates wrinkles. It is a component of cosmetics - creams, masks, shampoos. Bones are used as abrasive particles in scrubs.
Lifehack!
Use pitaya pulp to treat sunburn, a popular ailment among tourists in hot countries. Just apply it to the reddened parts of your body.
Contraindications
Pitaya should not be consumed by young children or people with allergies. In some cases, diarrhea may occur.
During pregnancy, the fruit should be consumed with caution. Expectant mothers will undoubtedly benefit from the range of properties of pitaya. However, it is important to remember that a pregnant woman’s body should not be subjected to nutritional stress.
When trying pitaya for the first time in your life, limit yourself to a small amount of fruit so as not to cause an unexpected reaction in the body. And don't forget to make a wish!
How to grow dragon fruit?
Hylocerius can be grown from seeds taken from a ripe fruit or by planting a cutting.
Seeds
Pitaya seeds are removed from the fruit, planted in soil for cacti and conditions similar to their habitat are created. It is important to maintain the temperature in the desired range and keep the plant in moderate humidity. You can use plant food. The seeds sprout quickly, but develop rather slowly into a mature plant.
Pay attention!
When using seeds, there is no guarantee that the plant will bear fruit.
Cutting
The cutting allows you to reduce the time of development and maturation of the plant. It also preserves the parameters of the mother tree and guarantees fruiting.
The prepared cuttings are dried for several days before planting, then planted in small pots with drainage and cactus soil and watered abundantly. The first weeks it is difficult to notice signs of pitaya growth. Gradually, strengthening root system, the stems will begin to grow. After 3 - 4 years the plant will produce a harvest.
