Tinda

Praecitrullus fistulosus

Praecitrullus fistulosus is a plant belonging to the gourd family ( Cucurbitaceae ), whose fruits are used as a vegetable in Asia. It is the only species of the genus Praecitrullus.

Features

The species is an annual, climbing plant. The shoot axes are relatively strong, the coat is shaggy. The tendrils are slender and two-to three parts.

The petioles are rauhaarig. The leaves are slightly fiederförmig. The leaf blade is scattered rauhaarig, the main nerve and the small nerves of the lower dense rauhaarig. The leaf margin is finely serrated. The cover page is spatulate and about 0.8 cm long.

The plants are monoecious. The solitary flowers are small and yellow. In the male flowers of the flower stalk is about one millimeter long, the calyx is bell-shaped, hairy and have reversed conical tip, which is about eight millimeters long. Of the three stamens is a free, others overgrown. The pollen grains are stung. The female flowers have a broad bell-shaped cup with about five millimeters long, lanceolate lobes. The ovary is pubescent. The fruits are approximately spherical and have a diameter of about six inches. The seeds are oblong- oval and about eight millimeters long. Its surface is smooth and yellowish-white. The seed coat consists of three layers.

The chromosome number is 2n = 24

System

The species was formerly placed in the genus Citrullus, but differs significantly from it in the chromosome number and other features, and can not cross with her. It is now managed as a separate genus within the tribe and is the sister taxon Benincaseae of wax gourd ( Benincasa ).

Dissemination and use

The species is native to India and Pakistan and is grown in the north of both countries, where the ripe fruit represent a popular vegetable. The harvest takes place before the seed coats harden. The fruits are cooked after removing the seeds, often with lenses. You will also be inserted. The seeds are eaten roasted. There are two forms: one with light green fruit, which is generally preferred, and the other with dark green fruits.

Documents

• R. W. Robinson, D. S. Decker -Walters: cucurbits. CAB International, Wallingford 1997, p 112 ISBN 0-85199-133-5
• Praecitrullus and P. fistulosus retrieved in the Flora of Pakistan, April 2, 2008.