Previous plant

Momordica boivinii

Next plant

Found this plant at Heidelburg Botanical Garden.


Photo by Sándor Horváth, Llifle.com.

Author:  Henri Ernest Baillon, 1886
Family:  CUCURBITACEAE
Origin:  Botswana, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Soil:  Grit - Mix
Water:  Medium
Sun:  Maximum
Thickness:  12 Centimetres
Height:  2-7,5 Meters
Flower:  Dark Yellow
Propagate:  Seeds
Names:  -
Synonyms:  Raphanocarpus boivinii, Chiovenda, 1929.
Raphanistrocarpus asperifolius,
Cogn. 1924.
Raphanistrocarpus boivinii
, Cogniaux, 1895.
 Raphanocarpus tuberosus, Dinter

This monoecious member of the Cucurbitaceae family was described by Henri Ernest Baillon in 1886. It is found in Ethiopia to Tanzania, and from Angola to South Africa. It grows in grit or another well drained soil with some water and lots of sun. The flowers are dark yellow. The vines will reach for two meters, or even 7,5 metres, given optimal conditions. The caudex can reach twelve centimetres.

The name comes from Mordio: 'to bite' after the bitten appearance of the seeds. The species name after Louis Hyacinthe Boivin, 1808-1852, a French botanist.