Cucumis ficifolius

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids I
Ordo: Cucurbitales

Familia: Cucurbitaceae
Tribus: Benincaseae
Genus: Cucumis
Subgenus: C. subg. Cucumis
Sectio: C. sect. Aculeatosi
Species: Cucumis ficifolius
Name

Cucumis ficifolius A.Rich.
References

Tentamen Florae Abyssinicae seu Enumeratio Plantarum hucusque in plerisque Abyssiniae 1:294. 1847-1848; t. 53. 1851?
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Cucumis ficifolius in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 09-Oct-10.

Cucumis ficifolius is a dioecious flowering vine in the family Cucurbitaceae.[1]

Distribution

Cucumis ficifolius is native to Africa and is found from Mauritania south to Ghana and Ivory Coast and east to the Horn of Africa and Tanzania, as well as in South Africa, Angola, southern Mozambique, and the Sinai Peninsula.[2]
Description

It is normally a prostrate plant with coarse, hairy stems and leaves. The leaf shape is ovate in outline and weakly cordate or subtruncate at the base and has 3-5 rounded lobes. The flowers occur solitarily and in males have yellow petals that measure 4-7 millimeters long each and in females measure 5-9 millimeters long each. The fruit is ovate and measures 23-50 millimeters (0.9-1.9 inches) in length and is green-yellow in color and is covered in small pustules that may look similar to spikes.[3] The entire plant (stems, leaves, fruits, roots) is poisonous upon ingestion.[4]
See also

Cucumis
List of Cucurbitales of South Africa

References

"Cucumis ficifolius A. Rich". Plants Profile. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
"Cucumis ficifolius A.Rich". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
"Entry for Cucumis ficifolius A. Rich. [family Cucurbitaceae]". JSTOR. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
Njoroge, Grace Njeri; Newton, Leonard E. (1 July 1994). "Edible and Poisonous Species Cucurbitaceae in the Central Highlands of Kenya". Journal of East African Natural History. 83 (2): 101. doi:10.2982/0012-8317(1994)83[101:EAPSOC]2.0.CO;2. Retrieved 17 January 2021.