Coccinia mackenii
Naudin ex C. Huber
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Roddy CJ Ward, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Roddy CJ Ward
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Gail Bowers-Winters, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Description
A climbing herb. It can be 8 m long. It keeps growing from year to year. The tendrils are divided into 2. The leaves are round to oblong. The flowers are pale yellow. The fruit are oblong. They are red when ripe. They are 5-8 cm long by 2-3.5 cm wide. The seeds a dirty white and rough. They are 7-8 mm long by 3-4 mm wide and 1.5 mm thick.
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.
Traditional Uses
The leaves are cooked and eaten as a vegetable.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Distribution
It is a subtropical plant.
Where It Grows
Africa, Eswatini, Mozambique, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland,
Other Information
It is cultivated.
Synonyms
Also Known As
Gomo
References (3)
- Holstein, N., 2015, Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54: 1–166
- 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
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
