Talerk Pumpkin
| Talerk Pumpkin | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fruit of Telfairia pedata , illustration |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Telfairia pedata | ||||||||||||
| ( Sims ) Hook. |
_Soni(West_Usambara_Mts),TZ_fri24jan2014-1148h.jpg)
The taler gourd ( Telfairia pedata ) is a crop from tropical East Africa and is a species of the cucurbitaceae family . The oil-rich seeds are mainly used.
description
The Taler pumpkin is up to 30 meters long, persevering Liane . The young, ribbed shoot axes are herbaceous and bare, they later lignify easily, are up to 10 centimeters thick and form a thin, pale, paper-like bark . The bare tendrils are in two parts, with one part being longer.
The spirally arranged, foot-shaped leaves are stalked and five to seven pinnate. The middle, largest leaflet is (5.5 to 14) × (2 to 7.5) centimeters in size. The shape of this leaflet is ovate to elliptical, lanceolate or obovate. Its tip is longer or shorter, pointed to pointed, the edge of the leaf is completely up to, especially in the upper area, distant and partly toothed or curved. The other leaflets are similar, the outer ones smaller and partly lobed at the base. The leaflets are almost bare and pinnate-shaped. The stalks of the leaflets are 1 to 6.5 centimeters long, the petioles 2.5 to 10 centimeters. They are bald or have short hairs. The stipules are missing.
There are up to 20 millimeters long (Probrakteen, Probracts) present, they are stem-like at the bottom and spatula and hood-shaped at the top.
Telfaira pedata is dioecious diocesan . The unisexual and stalked, bell-shaped flowers are five-fold with a double flower envelope . The flowers are white-purple.
The male flowers are in 6 to 23.5 centimeters long, loose racemes . The bracts of the flowers are four to ten millimeters long, broadly ovate, toothed and hairy. The flower cup is around 0.5 centimeters long, bell-shaped and with short hairs on the outside. The triangular calyx lobes, roughly sawn on the edge, are 12 to 18 millimeters long and pointed to pointed. The obovate petals are 2 to 3.5 centimeters long, veined and long fringed, as well as green to dark purple on the inside at the base and hairy on the outside and papilose on the inside. There are 3 or 5 shorter stamens at the top of the flower cup. With 5, 4 are fused in pairs, if these 4 are completely fused then only 3 stamens are left. The flower stalk is 0.5 to 5 inches long.
The female flowers stand individually on stalks 6.5 to 14 centimeters long and are slightly larger than the male flowers. The sepals are reduced to small teeth. The long, rippige and insulated draft tube ovary with some extended, beaded-lobed base, a collar is under constant and below the short flower cup. The short stylus is triangular and the scar is dreilappig with heart-shaped lobes.
The large fruit , a berry (armored berry, false fruit ) is 30 to 90 centimeters long and 15 to 25 centimeters wide. It is green, more or less rounded, pointed and ellipsoidal with a blunt, collar-shaped base. It has 10–12 rounded, wide ribs and can weigh up to 13–15 kg. When ripe, the fruit tears open at the top and releases the seeds.
The up to 150-200 seeds are (3.3 to 3.5) × (3.2 to 4.0) × (1.0 to 1.3) centimeters in size, so a little flattened. A net-like, light brown and porous endocarp layer envelops the seeds and covers the brown, relatively smooth seed coat . Due to the similarity to an oyster , the species also bears the common English name Oyster nut ( oyster nut ). The seeds have up to 25% protein and 55 to 60% fat.
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 22.
Distribution and locations
The species occurs naturally in Tanzania , Zambia and possibly in the north of Mozambique and grows in coastal rainforests and river forests up to 1100 m above sea level. It is often cultivated in West and Central Africa as well as in Madagascar and also wilds in these areas.
It does best in shady locations. It is relatively drought tolerant and can be grown up to an altitude of 2000 meters.
Use and cultivation
The shoot tips and leaves are eaten cooked as vegetables. However, the main use is for the seeds. The bitter peel must be removed before further processing. The seeds are eaten raw, roasted, pickled, used in soups or made into sweets. The oil-rich seeds are a traditional food component for nursing mothers in East Africa. The cotyledons are used in baked goods, chocolate and snacks. Fermented flour from the cotyledons is used in condiments, jams, and baby foods.
An edible oil is obtained from the seeds .
In areas with coffee plantations, it is grown as part of agroforestry . Small farmers also grow the table gourd and earn an additional income by selling the seeds.
gallery
Male plant, illustration
Female plant, illustration
literature
- C. Jeffrey: Telfairia pedata , in: Flora Zambesiaca. Volume 8, 1978 (online) .
- RW Robinson, DS Decker-Walters: Cucurbits. CAB International, Wallingford 1997, ISBN 0-85199-133-5 , p. 111.
- SA Ajayi, M. E Dulloo, RS Vodouhe, P. Berjak, JI Kioko: Conservation status of Telfairia spp. in sub-Saharan Africa. In: R. Vodouhe, K. Atta-Krah, GE Achigan-Dako, O. Eyog-Matig, H. Avohou (eds.): Plant Genetic Resources and Food Security in West and Central Africa. Biodiversity International 2007, ISBN 978-92-9043-750-5 , pp. 89-95 (online PDF; 12 MB) .
- Reinhard Lieberei, Wolfgang Franke , Christoph Reisdorff: Crop science. 7th edition, Thieme, 2007, ISBN 978-3-13-530407-6 , p. 156.
- William Jackson Hooker : Botanical miscellany. Vol. 2, Murray, 1831, pp. 152-158, Tab. LXXXI, LXXXII, online at biodiversitylibrary.org.
- A. Engler , A. Cogniaux : The plant kingdom . IV, 275, I, Engelmann, 1916, p. 265 ff, online .
- James A. Duke: Handbook of Nuts. CRC Press, 1989, 2001, ISBN 0-8493-3637-6 , pp. 278 ff.
Web links
- Telfairia pedata at Useful Tropical Plants.
- Telfairia pedata at PROTA.
- Telfairia pedata at KEW Science (Description).
- Telfairia pedata at JSTOR Global Plants.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Telfairia pedata at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis