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Melothria sphaerocarpa

Botanic Family

Cucurbitaceae

Author

(Cogniaux) H. Schaefer & S.S. Renner

Common Names

• White Seeded Melon
• Jícaro (Spanish)
• Jo-macam (Kekchí)
• Sisibur (Spanish)
• Amélikaka (Anii)
• Atoo (Holly)
• Azohan or Goussi (Aizo)
• Égusi Itoo (Tcgabè)
• Gbessenou or Guérou or Guinru or Kasoungui (Bariba)
• Ito (Idatcha)
• Kaka n'to or Kaka Itoo (Ifè)
• Kèrè (Kotokoli)
• Pinwè (Boko)
• Tchegba (Adja)
• Tooku (Fon)
• Zohan or Zounhan (Mahi)
• Égusi or Égusi-itoo (French)
• Dark Egusi

Geographical Habitats

• N. Brazil
• Colombia
• Costa Rica
• Dominican Republic
• Ecuador
• French Guiana
• Guatemala
• Guyana
• Chiapas - Mexico
• Nicaragua
• Panama
• Peru
• Suriname
• Trinidad & Tobago
• Venezuela

Natural Habitats

• Forest
• thickets
• forest edges
• moist forest
• coastal
• lakeside
• woodland.

Flowering Times

• Dec-Feb (Nicaragua)

Fruiting Times

• Jan-Feb (Nicaragua)

Simple tendril annual scabrous climber to 10m, grooved angled branches hairy when young. 3-7 lobed toothed leaves to 200mm across, glabrous or minutely pubescent beneath. Male yellow flowers to 12mm diameter in axillary panicles, solitary axillary 20mm female yellow flowers, fruit to 300mm long x 75mm diameter, creamy-white striped green Annual climbing or prostrate herbaceous tendril vine with 55mm (female) orange-yellow flowers with green lines, fruit to 250mm x 180mm, yellow-green with green marks, 90mm seeds.

Further References

• Sturtevant 1919
• Huxley 1992
• Rubatzky 1997
• Mobot
• Welw
• The Plant List 2
• FOTA
• Neotrop
• Traditional Vegetables in Benin