Sechium

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
Subfamilia: Cucurbitoideae
Tribus: Sicyeae
Subtribus: Sicyinae
Genus: Sechium
Species: S. chinantlense – S. compositum – S. edule – S. hintonii – S. jamaicense – S. panamense – S. pittieri – S. tacaco – S. talamancense – S. venosum – S. villosum
Name

Sechium (Jacq.) P.Browne, 1756, nom. cons.

Typus: S. edule – (Jacq.) Swartz

Synonymy

Homotypic
Chayota Jacq., Sel. Stirp. Amer. Hist. ed. pict. 124. t. 245. 1780.
Chocho Adans., Fam. 2: 500. 1763.

References

Browne, P. 1756. Civ. Nat. Hist. Jamaica 355.

Sechium is a genus in the tribe Sicyoeae of the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae. Its best known member is the edible and widely cultivated chayote.
Species

The accepted species in the genus are:[3]

Sechium chinantlense Lira & F. Chiang
Sechium compositum (Donn. Sm.) C. Jeffrey
Sechium edule (Jacq.) Sw. The chayote or christophine
Sechium hintonii (Paul G. Wilson) C. Jeffrey
Sechium mexicanum Lira & M. Nee
Sechium panamense (Wunderlin) Lira & F.Chiang
Sechium pittieri (Cogn.) C.Jeffrey
Sechium tacaco (Pittier) C. Jeffrey
Sechium talamancensis (Wunderlin) C.Jeffrey
Sechium venosum (L.D.Gómez) Lira & F.Chiang
Sechium villosum (Wunderlin) C. Jeffrey

Sechium edule fruit with its single internally germinating seed
References

Rafael Lira Saade (1996). Chayote: Sechium edule (Jacq.) Sw (PDF). International Plant Genetic Resources Institute.
"USDA GRIN Taxonomy".
The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Published on the Internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/ (accessed 11 March 2016)