Author: | Célestin
Alfred Cogniaux, 1881 |
Family: |
CUCURBITACEAE |
Origin: |
Angola,
Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Caprivi Strip, Central African
Republic, Chad, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda,
Sudan, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zaïre,
Zimbabwe |
Soil: |
Mix |
Water:
|
Medium |
Sun: |
Medium - Maximum |
Thickness: |
30 Centimetres |
Height: |
3 Metres |
Flower:
|
Creamy
Yellow - Salmon-Pink - Orange |
Propagate: |
Seeds |
Names:
|
Wild
Spinach |
Synonyms: |
Momordica adoensis Hochst. ex A. Rich. 1847.
Bryonia
jatrophaefolia, A.Rich.
Coccinia homblei, Cogn.
Coccinia jatrophaefolia, Cogn.
Coccinia parvifolia,
Cogn.
Coccinia rigida, Gilg
Cephalandra pubescens,
Sond.
Coccinia pubescens, Eyles.
Coccinia djurensis,
Gilg.
Coccinia homblei, Cogn.
Coccinia roseiflora,
Suesseng.
Coccinia subspicata, Cogn. Schizostigma
asperata, Arn.
Cephalandra rehmanni, Cogn.
Schizostigma asperata, Arn.
Coccinia hartmanniana,
Schweinf. Coccinia palmata, Williamson.
Coccinia
princeae, Gilg.
Coccinia aostae, Busc. & Muschl.
Coccinia diversifolia, Cogn. |
This member of the Cucurbitaceae family was
given this name by Célestin Alfred Cogniaux in 1881. It is found in
the semidry wood- and grass regions of central and southern Africa, growing in a well
drained soil with some water and some to lots of sun. The caudex
can grow to 30 centimetres or more, the vines can reach three
metres. The flowers are creamy yellow over salmon pink to orange
with greenish or brownish vines. The fruits are four to fifteen
millimetres and red with a long stalk.
As the many synonyms
indicates, the leaves are extremely variable, from broadly ovate or
pentagonal to deeply palmately 3-7 lobed.
The genera name from Latin coccineus,
meaning 'red' or 'scarlet' which must referee to the fruits. The
specific name after the city of Adoa, presend day Adwa/Aduwa in
Ethiopia. |