Melothria sphaerocarpa

Melothria sphaerocarpa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Cucurbitales
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Genus: Melothria
Species:
M. sphaerocarpa
Binomial name
Melothria sphaerocarpa
(Cogn.) H.Schaef. & S.S.Renner
Synonyms
  • Cladosicyos edulis Hook.f.
  • Corynosicyos edulis (Hook.f.) F.Muell.
  • Cucumeropsis edulis (Hook.f.) Cogn.
  • Cucumeropsis mackennii K.Koch
  • Cucumeropsis mannii Naudin
  • Cucurbitella ecuadorensis Cogn.
  • Momordica procera A.Chev.
  • Posadaea sphaerocarpa Cogn.

Melothria sphaerocarpa is a species of melon native from southern Mexico and the Dominican Republic through Central America to tropical South America. It has been introduced to western tropical Africa, where has been known under the synonym Cucumeropsis mannii, and is grown for food and as a source of oil, more often for the seed oil than for the fruit.

Its common names include egusi in Yoruba, 'egwusi in Igbo and agushi in Hausa. Vernacular names for this crop include egusi-itoo. In English it is known as Mann's cucumeropsis and white-seed melon.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.