Telfairia occidentalis

Telfairia occidentalis is a tropical vine grown in West Africa as a leaf vegetable and for its edible seeds. Common names for the plant include fluted gourd, fluted pumpkin, ugu (in the Igbo language), "Eweroko" (in the Yoruba language),okwukwo-wiri (in Ikwerre language), nkemaku in Ubang language, and ikong-ubong (in the Efik and Ibibio languages), "Akwukwor ri" (in Etche language). T. occidentalis is a member of the family Cucurbitaceae and is indigenous to southern Nigeria. The fluted gourd grows in many nations of West Africa, but is mainly cultivated in southeastern Nigeria and it is used primarily in soups and herbal medicines. Although the fruit is inedible, the seeds produced by the gourd are high in protein and fat, and can, therefore, contribute to a well-balanced diet. The plant is a drought-tolerant, dioecious perennial that is usually grown trellised. T. occidentalis is traditionally used by an estimated 30 to 35 million people in Nigeria, including the Efik, Ibibio, Ikwerre, and Urhobo ethnic groups. However, it is predominantly used by the Igbo ethnic group, who continue to cultivate the gourd for food sources and traditional medicines. A recurring subject in the Igbo’s folklore, the fluted gourd is noted to have healing properties and was used as a blood tonic, to be administered to the weak or ill. It is endemic to southern Nigeria, and was an asset to international food trades of the Igbo ethnic group.

Description

A pumpkin family plant. It is a strong vine which loses its leaves during the year. Stems can be 10 m long. The leaves have 3-5 leaflets which look like claws. They are arranged like fingers on a hand. The stalk of the leaflets is about 2.5 cm long. The leaflets have teeth on the edge of the top part of them. They are often rough underneath. The vine has tendrils which are branched and with coiled tips which clasp objects. Plants are separately male and female. Male plants have tougher shoots and smaller leaves. The male flowers are on flower stalks 5-25 cm long. Female flowers occur singly and are on short stalks. Female flowers are in the axils of leaves. Male flowers are small, pink and in clusters. The fruit are pale green and covered with a white waxy layer that rubs off easily. Fruit are strongly ribbed at maturity. They can be 25 cm long and weigh 3-6 kg. The flesh is light yellow and fibrous. The seeds are flattened, round and 3.5 cm across. There are 30-70 seeds in each fruit.

Edible Uses

The seeds are pleasant-tasting with an almond-like flavour and can be boiled and eaten as a nut or ground into flour for use in soups. Immature seeds can be cooked or roasted, or fermented for several days and eaten as a slurry. Mature seeds are not consumed directly due to a high content of antinutrients. The raw flour has better water and fat absorption properties than the oil, making it useful in baking. Seeds contain up to 30% protein and a high content of a non-drying oil. The large seeds, up to 5cm in diameter, are enclosed in a fruit that can weigh up to 50kg. The seeds are also pressed to produce a cooking oil whose main constituents are oleic acid (37%), stearic and palmitic acid (both 21%), and linoleic acid (15%), though variation between samples is large. Leaves and young shoots are cooked as a potherb. The leaves can be used alone or combined with okra (Abelmoschus caillei and Abelmoschus esculentus), dika nut (Irvingia gabonensis), or egusi seeds (Citrullus lanatus and other species), and can also be mixed with eru (Gnetum africanum) and Pterocarpus soyauxii. Young shoots up to 50cm long are used in stews and as a side dish. The fruit pulp, including young seeds, is occasionally made into marmalade.

Traditional Uses

The thick shoots of the female plant are chopped and used on soups. The seeds are stripped of their coat then ground and used in soups. The seeds are also boiled in their seed coats then shelled and eaten. The seeds yield a cooking oil. The young shoots and leaves are used as a potherb. They are also added to soups and stews. They can also be dried and stored. CAUTION: The roots are poisonous.

Medicinal Uses

Pregnant women and patients with anaemia use the leaf juice as a tonic to strengthen the blood.

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. It occurs in forest zones in Africa. It can grow in shade or bright sunlight. It can survive moderate droughts. It can grow in arid places.

Where It Grows

Africa, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central Africa, Congo DR, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda, West Africa,

Cultivation

It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 21 - 30°c, but can tolerate 19 - 38°c. The plant can survive temperatures down to about 5°c. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,900 - 2,200mm, but tolerates 1,500 - 2,700mm. Succeeds in shade or full sun. Tolerant of a wide range of soils, though a humus-rich, moist, fertile soil gives best yields. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 6, tolerating 4.5 - 7. Established plants are drought resistant, though yields are greatly reduced in times of drought. Fluted pumpkin grows fast in the warm, humid tropics, producing edible leaves in the rainy season and at the beginning of the dry season, for a period of 6 - 10 months. The plant can be managed as a short-term perennial when grown on well-drained soils, slightly shaded and well mulched. On soggy soils and in sunlit spots it can only be grown as an annual. Female plants are usually grown for their edible young shoots since males do not produce many of these. The first harvest of these shoots occurs about 2 - 3 months after sowing the seed. Up to 15 harvests may be obtained during the following 120 - 160 days. Male plants start to flower about 3 months after planting, a month earlier than females plants. Hand pollination seems to be advantageous for fruit set as it resulted in 35% fruit set compared to 15% fruit set in open pollination. Female plants produce about 18 single flowers which set fruit, but only 1 - 4 develop into mature fruits. Out of the female plants of a population, only 35% bear fruits. A large variation occurs between and within plants in the number of seeds per fruit, from 6 seeds per fruit up to 196, with an average of 62 seeds. The seeds are also unequal in size, varying in weight from 1 - 68g. Fruits are ready about 5 - 6 months after sowing. The fresh shoot yield can be as low as 500 - 1,000 kilos per hecttare, but it can also reach 3 - 10 tonnes. In home gardens in Benin, one plant occupying 3 metres of fence produced 2 kilos of young leaves per metre in the rainy season and 500g in the dry season without irrigation. The seed yield can reach 1.9 tonnes per hctare, derived from 3,000 fruits. A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required. Identifying the female plants from either seeds or young seedlings has not been successful, but vine size 64 days after planting could be used as a sex indicator, because female plants are more vigorous than the male ones.

Propagation

Seed can be sown in situ or in containers. When using containers, sow 2–3 seeds per container and thin to the strongest seedling after germination. Seed size affects vigour, germination rate, and establishment: viability ranges from 63% for small seeds weighing less than 11g up to 89% for seeds weighing 22g. Germination takes about 14 days in natural soil but only 7 days in a sawdust medium. Vine length one week after emergence averages 31cm for large seeds and 16cm for small seeds. Container-grown plants should be set out after approximately 30 days. Some seeds exhibit polyembryony, producing more than one seedling. The seed is recalcitrant, often germinating while still inside the fruit, and has short viability, making storage difficult. The critical seed moisture content below which seeds cannot recover from desiccation is 40–60%. The plant can also be propagated by layering, which is very easy.

Other Uses

Fluted pumpkin is commonly grown in homesteads, intercropped with other vegetables and food crops such as cassava, yams, and maize, or planted against fences. The seed oil, though reported to be non-drying, is also used as a drying oil for paints and varnishes. The stems are macerated to produce fibres used as a sponge.

Production

The first leaf harvest can occur 12 weeks after planting. Seed harvest takes 8-10 months. Shoots can be picked 10-15 times over 4-5 months.

Other Information

It is a commercially cultivated vegetable.

Notes

The leaves have anti-bacterial properties.

Nutrition

Also Known As

Apiroko, Calabaza, Emeke, Gonugbe, Iroko, Krobonko, Njee, Oysternut, Pondokoko, Ubong, Ugu, Ugwu, Umee, Umwenkhen

References (39)

• Abbiw, D.K., 1990, Useful Plants of Ghana. West African uses of wild and cultivated plants. Intermediate Technology Publications and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. p 40
• Achigan-Dako, E, et al (Eds), 2009, Catalogue of Traditional Vegetables in Benin. International Foundation for Science.
• Akoroda M.O., 1990, Ethnobotany of Telfairia occidentalis (Cucurbitaceae) among Igbos of Nigeria. Economic Botany. 44(1) pp 29-39
• Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 1. Kew.
• Busson, 1965,

More from Cucurbitaceae

Benincasa hispida var. chieh-qua

Chi qua, Hairy melon, Fuzzy gourd

Bryonia alba

White Bryony, Tetterberry, Wild hops

Bryonia cretica

Bryonia cretica subsp. dioica

Red bryony, Wild hop, English mandrake

Bryonia dioica

Red Bryony, Cretan bryony

🌱

Bryonopsis heterophylla