Coccinia hirtella
Cogn.
Monyaku
iNaturalist· cc-by-sa
(c) Tony Rebelo, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Tony Rebelo
iNaturalist· cc-by-sa
(c) Tony Rebelo, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
Description
A pumpkin family creeper. It forms a woody tuber. The tendrils are divided into two. Young fruit are pale green. The fruit become red when ripe. The seeds have a red juicy envelope around them.
Edible Uses
The genus Coccinia is best known for C. grandis, commonly known as "ivy gourd". Its fruits can be eaten raw when ripe or cooked when unripe. In the latter case, it is used in curries. Young leaves and shoots are also edible. All used plants are a good source of carotenoids. The tuber of Coccinia abyssinica is cooked and a source of starch for the Oromo people in Ethiopia. Local culinary uses also exist. However, many species and also populations within species can be bitter due to cucurbitacins. Coccinia grandis is also well known in ayurvedic medicine for diabetes treatment, and modern research seems to confirm that it might be of value in that application.
Distribution
It is a subtropical plant.
Where It Grows
Africa, Lesotho, South Africa, Southern Africa,
Also Known As
Foma, Leraka-la-balimo
References (6)
- Cunningham, 1985,
- Letsela, T., et al, 2003, Plant Resources Used for Subsistence in Tsehlanyane and Boking in Lesotho. Economic Botany 57(4): 619-639
- Marker & Sheape,
- Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 99
- Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 48
Show all 6 references Hide references
- Welcome, A. K. & Van Wyk, B.-E., 2019, An inventory and analysis of the food plants of southern Africa. South African Journal of Botany 122 (2019) 136–179
