Cucumeropsis mannii
Naudin
Dark egusi
Wikimedia Commons - Eric Freyssinge
Wikimedia Commons - Agnes
What to Eat
Edible parts: Seeds, Fruit, Vegetable, Leaves
The seeds are the primary edible portion; they are parched, pounded to remove the seed coat, and the kernels are crushed and added to soups and stews, or roasted and eaten as a snack. The fruit flesh is edible but rarely consumed.
Known Hazards
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It grows in forests in tropical Africa. It grows up to 1,150 m altitude.
Africa, Angola, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Colombia, Congo DR, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Ecuador, Equatorial-Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, Trinidad, Uganda, Venezuela, West Africa,
How to Identify
A pumpkin family plant. It is a cucumber-like plant. It lies along the ground. The vines can be 5 m or more long. The leaves are alternate and simple. They are 9-18 cm long and 7-15 cm wide. They are heart shaped at the base and have 3-5 lobes arranged like fingers on a hand. There are teeth around the edge. The flowers are of separate sexes. The male flowers are in groups in the axils of leaves and female flowers occur singly. The flowers are yellow. The fruit are about 25 cm long and 8 cm across. They are pale yellow and have many seeds. The seeds are oval and flattened. They are 1-2 cm long by 0.5-1 cm wide. They are smooth and white.
How to Grow
Plants are grown from seed. Often 3-4 seeds are planted in a hole. The seedlings appear within 6-8 days. It is often intercropped and allowed to climb stakes.
Propagation: Seed - usually sown in situ, placing 3 - 4 seeds in each planting hole. Germination usually takes place in 6 - 8 days.
Medicinal Uses
Juice from the fruit mixed with other ingredients is applied to the navel of a new-born baby for five days until the cord-relic drops off. The leaves are used to make a macerate for purging a suckling baby either by administration direct to the baby or by putting some on the mother’s breasts before she nurses it.
Other Uses
A semi-drying oil is obtained from the seeds. It is a good substitute for cotton-seed oil and is suitable for soap-manufacture and for illumination. The dried fruit shell of a form with small elongated fruit is pierced and used as a warning horn by cattle boys.
Production
Fruit are collected when the stems have dried and the fruit have changed from green to pale yellow or white. Seed yields can be 300-900 kg per hectare. After harvest fruit are cracked or split open and allowed to rot for 14-20 days to help remove the seed from the pulp. (This creates a smell so is done away from houses.) The seeds are washed and covered with sand to prevent sticking. They are then dried and stored.
Other Information
It is a commercially cultivated vegetable.
Names & Synonyms
Bolose, Budi, Egusi-ito, Goussi-tchegba, Ito, Itoo, Kikuma, Koja, Koja-mumu, Koliko, Losela, Ma-tent, Mbika nsudi, Mengele, Ngani, Ogi, Toror
References (34)
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