Cucurbita foetidissima
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Cucurbita foetidissima , male flower |
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Cucurbita foetidissima is a species of the cucurbit family (Cucurbitaceae) that is native to North America.
features
Cucurbita foetidissima is a perennial , herbaceous plant . It has a yellow, flesh taproot, often over 15 cm in diameter and over 1.5 m in length. From the root, which can weigh up to 70 kg, arise from one to 30 shoots that can be up to 12 meters long. Runners can take root and thus reproduce vegetatively.
The tendrils branch out more than an inch above the base. The leaves are thick, around 15 to 30 centimeters in size, triangular-oval, with a heart-shaped or truncated base. They are only weakly lobed. The color of the leaves is gray-green. They smell unpleasant, especially when rubbed. The leaf margin is serrated.
The species is gyno , that is, there are purely female plants and plants that bear female and male flowers. Often the species is only described as monoecious. The flowers are individually in leaf axils. The corolla is 9 to 12 centimeters tall. Flowering time is June to August. The fruit has a diameter of seven to eight centimeters, is round, green, speckled with white stripes. The seeds are white and 12 to 14 millimeters in size.
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 40.
Flower ecology
The flowers are only open for one morning. Pollination is mainly carried out by bees of the genera Peponapis and Xenoglossa , but also by honey bees of the genus Apis .
distribution
The species occurs in large parts of the United States and northern Mexico. It grows on sandy and gravelly sites up to 1300 m above sea level in the dry deserts. Often grows together with creosote bushes . In some areas of the United States, it has become a weed on disturbed locations such as roadsides.
use
The species' drought tolerance has led to attempts to grow and breed it commercially. It provides a large number of seeds that are rich in oil and protein. The leaves can be fed to cattle, the roots provide carbohydrates. Despite considerable research, the species is not grown commercially.
The whole plant is rich in cucurbitacins and was used medicinally by the Indians on various occasions. The content of triterpene saponins led to the fruits being used as soap.
literature
- James C. Hickman (Ed.): The Jepson Manual. Higher Plants of California . University of California Press, 1993. (online) (characteristics, distribution)
- Weeds of the North Central States . Bulletin 772, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1988. (Characteristics)
- RW Robinson, DS Decker-Walters: Cucurbits . CAB International, Wallingford 1997, p. 83. ISBN 0-85199-133-5 (usage)
- James A. Winsor, Shani Peretz, Andrew G. Stephenson: Pollen competition in a natural population of Cucurbita foetidissima (Cucurbitaceae) . American Journal of Botany, Volume 87, 2000, pp. 527-532. (Abstract and full text) (characteristics, flower ecology)
