Sechium edule (Jacq.) Sw.
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Distribution: In disturbed areas. Native to Central America, widely cultivated throughout the tropics for its edible fruits.
Public forest: Maricao and Río Abajo.
"Karnataka: Chikmagalur, N. Kanara, Shimoga, S. Kanara Tamil Nadu: Coimbatore, Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Kanniyakumari, Salem, Theni, Tirunelveli"
Tropical America; cultivated in India, OId and New World tropics.
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| Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
| Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=110&taxon_id=200022716 |
1200-2000 m
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
| Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=110&taxon_id=200022716 |
Sechium edule (Jacq.) Sw.
BASÓNIMO: Sicyos edulis Jacq.
Bejuco herbáceo trepador mediante zarcillos axilares, de 10 o más m de largo. Tallos muy ramificados, verdosos, estriados, pubescentes cuando jóvenes, glabros al madurar, a veces pubescentes en los nudos; zarcillos axilar-laterales a las hojas, gruesos, con 4 ó 5 ramificaciones que se enroscan en espiral. Hojas alternas; láminas 6-22 × 6-22 cm, ovada o redondeada, 3-5-lobado-angular, cartáceas, la nervación 5-9-palmada, los lóbulos de ápice agudo, la base cordiforme, los márgenes enteros o denticulados; haz verde obscuro, escabroso, con la nervación poco prominente; envés verde amarillento con la nervación prominente, pubescente; pecíolos gruesos, 4-15 cm de largo. Flores estaminadas en racimos axilares; cáliz verde, campanulado, con 5 diminutos lóbulos lanceolados; corola verde amarillento, los lóbulos oblongos, 6-8 mm de largo; estambres amarillos. Flores pistiladas solitarias en un largo pedicelo axilar a la inflorescencia estaminada; cáliz verde, campanulado, con lóbulos oblongos, ca. 4 mm de largo; corola verde amarillenta, con cinco lóbulos profundos, oblongos, 10-12 mm de largo; ovario ínfero, obovoide-fusiforme, pubescente. Fruto carnoso, piriforme, sulcado, 8-16 cm de largo, verde o blanco, usualmente espinuloso. Semilla única, lenticular, la cual germina dentro del fruto.
Fenología: Florece y fructifica todo el año.
Estatus: Exótica, cultivada y naturalizada, muy común.
Especimenes Estudiados: Acevedo-Rdgz., P. 10528; Axelrod, F. 4738.
Sechium edule (Jacq.) Sw., Fl. Ind. Occ. 1150.1800.
Basionym: Sicyos edulis Jacq.
Herbaceous vine climbing by axillary tendrils, 10 or more m in length. Stems much branched, greenish, striate, pubescent when young, glabrous when mature, sometimes pubescent at the nodes; tendrils axillary or lateral to the leaves, thick, with 4 or 5 branches that intertwine in a spiral. Leaves alternate; blades 6-22 × 6-22 cm, ovate or rounded, 3-5-lobed-angled, chartaceous, the venation 5-9-palmate, the lobes acute at the apex, the base cordiform, the margins entire or denticulate; upper surface dark green, scabrous, with the venation slightly prominent; lower surface yellowish green, with prominent venation, pubescent; petioles thick, 4-15 cm long. Staminate flowers in axillary racemes; calyx green, campanulate, with 5 minute lanceolate lobes; corolla yellowish green, the lobes oblong, 6-8 mm long; stamens yellow. Pistillate flowers solitary on a long pedicel axillary to the staminate inflorescence; calyx green, campanulate, with oblong lobes, ca. 4 mm long; corolla yellowish green, with five deep lobes, oblong, 10-12 mm long; ovary inferior, obovoid-fusiform, pubescent. Fruit fleshy, pyriform, sulcate, 8-16 cm long, green or white, usually spinulose. Seed one, lenticular, germinating inside the fruit.
Phenology: Flowering and fruiting throughout the year.
Status: Exotic, cultivated and naturalized, very common.
Habit: Climber
Persistence: PERENNIAL
The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 3
Specimens with Barcodes: 3
Species With Barcodes: 1