Cucumis sacleuxii
Pailleux & Bois
Mandera cucumber
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Guy Eric Onjalalaina, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Guy Eric Onjalalaina
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Guy Eric Onjalalaina, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Guy Eric Onjalalaina
Description
A pumpkin family plant. It is a climbing plant. The stems are 1 m long. They have long bristly hairs amongst shorter finer hairs. The leaves are broadly oval to heart shaped and densely hairy. There are teeth around the edge. The leaves are 3-9 cm long by 4-10 cm wide. They have 5-7 lobes spread like fingers on a hand. The central lobe is largest. Male and female flowers are separate. The fruit is oval and 7-8 cm long by 4-5 cm wide. They are green with yellow stripes.
Edible Uses
Young fruit are pickled. Leaves are also edible.
Traditional Uses
Young fruit are pickled.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Distribution
A tropical plant. It grows from sea level to 1,200 m above sea level.
Where It Grows
Africa, Congo R, East Africa, Kenya, Madagascar, Tanzania,
Notes
There are about 25 Cucumis species.
References (5)
- Bull. Soc. Natl. Acclim. France 37:371. 1890
- Ferns, Useful Tropical Plants
- Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 72
- Norton, et al, 1987,
- Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 101
