For the identification of insects and other fauna and flora of South Africa.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Sessile-leaved cucumber (Coccinia sessilifolia) Cucurbitaceae

The fruits ripen through yellow to red from the tip.
It is a herbaceous perennial climber with a tuberous rootstock.

 Both the fruit and the tuber are used as food by the San people, the fruit being best when still green and cooked as a vegetable.

The seeds of the ripened fruit are eaten by birds and so propagated.

These plants occur in grassland and bushveld.
 

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