Chayote

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Chayote
Chayote fruits

Chayote fruits

Systematics
Rosids
Eurosiden I
Order : Pumpkin-like (Cucurbitales)
Family : Pumpkin family (Cucurbitaceae)
Genre : Sechium
Type : Chayote
Scientific name
Sechium edule
(Jacq.) Sw.
Chayote ( Sechium edule )
Sliced ​​fruit of the chayote with a smooth, light green skin and few furrows; you can see the core
Prickly, dark green chayote with a sprout
Male flower of a smooth chayote

The chayote ( Sechium edule ) is a trailing plant of the subtropics and tropics , the edible fruits of which are also called chayotes and are grown as vegetables. She comes from the family of cucurbits .

description

The rough-haired perennial climber grows very quickly in suitable locations and can cover several dozen square meters there, depending on the climbing base. If it climbs on a tree, the chayote can grow to over five meters high. The chayote forms a rhizome from which it sprouts anew in locations with different seasons in spring.

The heart-shaped, stalked and simple leaves can be as large as a hand, about 15-25 centimeters. The ribbed petioles are about 7-20 centimeters long. The leaves are ovate to rounded in outline. They are at the edge with a few small and three to seven large teeth or small lobes and usually pointed or pointed. The leaves are hairy on top of the veins. Often shoots with dry leaves hang on the plant, the tendrils of which have not been able to grow. The bare tendrils are three to five parts. The young leaves are hairy and then bald.

The white to yellow, five-fold, short-stalked flowers with a double envelope appear in the leaf axils. In grapes appearing male flowers grow along with the standing alone or in pairs female flowers on the same plant. The plants are thus monoecious . The green calyx lobes are narrow triangular and the petals are triangular to elongated. The five stamens of the male flowers are fused tubular and short-branched above. The unicameral ovary of the female flowers is subordinate, the stigma is lobed. In the flower cups hairy are nectaries present. The plant is insect pollinated .

The solitary fruits, berries ( false fruit , armored berries ) usually hang below the foliage and are about 5–25 centimeters when fully ripe. They vary in shape, size and color depending on the variety. The often wrinkled, more or less ribbed fruit is usually egg-shaped to pear-shaped, more rarely rounded. The thin, waxy and smooth to sometimes hairy to soft prickly skin is usually greenish. Sometimes it has a whitish or yellow color even in cultivars. Dark green chayotes can have shorter, soft to harder spines . The inside of the fruit is pale green and whitish and tastes very discreetly like a mixture of potatoes and cucumber . Some varieties taste like kohlrabi and can be eaten raw or cooked.

The soft-skinned, egg-shaped, flat and smooth, yellowish, about 2.5-5 centimeters large core (seeds), from which the plant sprouts on the mother plant (only in cultivated plants) if the humidity is right, without any underlay Viviparia ) is also edible. In wild plants, the fruit only peel off before germination . Like the fruit, the seed tastes neutral, but with a slightly nutty note. Unlike many other cucurbit plants, the chayote has only one core.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 24, 26 or 28.

Taxonomy

The first description of Basionyms Sicyos edulis was made in 1760 by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin in Enumeratio Systematica Plantarum, quas in insulis Caribaeis 32. The re-allocation to the genus Sechium to Sechium edule was made in 1800 by Olof Swartz in Flora Indiae occidentalis 2 (2): 1150 .

The chayote ( Sechium edule (Jacq.) Sw. ) Is subdivided in the taxonomy into the Sechium edule subsp. sylvestre Lira & J.Castrejón and the cultivated Sechium edule subsp. edule .

ecology

The plant is not frost-resistant. It does not place high demands on the soil. However, good drainage is beneficial for it to thrive.

Origin and Distribution

The chayote has its origin with the Aztecs and Maya of Mesoamerica . Today the chayote is grown in many tropical and subtropical countries. However, there is no archaeological evidence of the chayote to suggest its age. Reports from conquistadors suggest a pre-Columbian use.

Cultivation

Agricultural cultivation of chayote on a rack, on Réunion
Direct germination from the fruit

The chayote is mainly grown as a vegetable. For this purpose, a framework is usually created on which the plant can grow. The scaffolding is so high that you can move underneath to harvest. The fruits are then harvested from below the foliage.

The chayote is a popular plant in permaculture because it provides a high yield for little effort. It only has to be placed on the ground to plant, the fruits do not have to be dug up, all parts of the plant are edible and it grows fruitfully for several years without care. In addition, it serves as a shade provider for semi-shade-loving vegetables that can be grown under their canopy if a frame is built for the tendrils that allows spaces between the individual plants. One plant can bear up to 200-300 fruits. Commercial plantings achieve yields per hectare of up to around 28 tons per year.

The tropical plant is also grown here in the temperate zone as a vegetable in the garden like pumpkin.

ingredients

Like the related cucumber, chayote mainly contains water and therefore has a very low physiological calorific value . It contains many amino acids , vitamin C and the minerals potassium, calcium and iron. The fruit contains around 2% protein and very little starch, so that the protein-starch ratio in the chayote is considerably higher compared to the similarly used potato. The stems contain a lot of vitamin A.

use

In the kitchen

The chayote is one of the few plants all parts of which are eaten. It is mostly cooked. The bowl can also be cooked and, if it is not too chewy, also eaten. Chayote can be used well as a side dish because of its neutral taste. The core is sometimes served separately as a delicacy. The fruit can also be eaten raw, grilled or fried. The root of the chayote is also considered a specialty. The young leaf shoots are also edible and can be used as a soup or prepared like spinach. Sweets are also made from the chayote, such as candied chayote or chayote compote.

The chayote cannot be stored for a long period of time as it germinates very quickly.

In the medicine

In traditional herbal medicine, the leaves are used to make a tea to relieve kidney stones.

In the craft

On the French island of Réunion, hats are made from the dried stems .

trade

Chayote is traded mainly and to a large extent in local markets in the growing countries. However, a small part of the production is also exported. Countries of origin for the European market include: a. Brazil and Costa Rica . Costa Rica exports approximately 10,000 tons to the US annually.

Etymology and alternative names

The word chayote is the Spanish name for the fruit and comes from the Nahuatl region , where it is called hitzayotli and means something like “prickly pumpkin”. The plant and its fruit are known by different names depending on the country or even region:

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sechium edule at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
  2. ↑ Chayote at Purdue (English).
  3. ^ LE Newstrom: Evidence for the origin of chayote Sechium edule (Cucurbitaceae). In: Economic Botany. 45 (3), 1991, pp. 410-428, doi: 10.1007 / BF02887082 .
  4. ↑ a b Papa del aire o Chayote on prodiversitas.bioetica.org ( Memento from October 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (Spanish).
  5. ↑ a b c Rafael Lira Saade: Chayote Sechium edule (Jacq.) Sw. Promoting the conservation and use of underutilized and neglected crops. 8. Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Gatersleben / International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome 1996, ISBN 92-9043-298-5 , online (PDF) ( Memento from February 25, 2009 in the Internet Archive ).
  6. ↑ Chayote on kraizschouschteschgaart.info.
  7. ↑ Chayote on atlanta.de ( Memento from March 12, 2006 in the Internet Archive ).
  8. ↑ Synonyms and ingredients on liberherbarum.com.
  9. ↑ Propiedades Alimentarias del chayote at Botanical-online - El Mundo de las plantas (Spanish).

Web links

Commons : Chayote ( Sechium edule )  - album with pictures, videos and audio files