Telfairia pedata

Fruit of Telfairia pedata, illustration.

The thaler pumpkin ( Telfairia pedata ) is a crop from the tropical East Africa and is a species of the family Cucurbitaceae ( Cucurbitaceae ). Be used especially the oil-rich seeds.

Features

The thaler Pumpkin is a 30 meters long, perennial vine. The young shoot axes are herbaceous, and bare, they become woody and slightly later form a thin, pale, papery bark. The vines are in two parts, one part is longer tendrils. The leaves are petiolate and five to seven times pinnate. The middle leaflets is (5.5 to 14) × ( 2 to 7.5 ) inches tall. The shape of this is leaflets oblong to broadly elliptic. His blade tip is tapered to pointed, serrated leaf margin slightly especially at the top. The leaves are nearly bald, fiederförmig annoyed. The other leaflets are similar, the outer smaller and partially lobed at the base. The stems of the leaflets are 1 to 6.5 inches long, the petioles two to four inches. They are hairy bald or short.

The bracteoles are three to 20 millimeters in size, and long stalk -like in the lower range, extended and hood -shaped upper part.

The male flowers are in 6 to 23.5 inches long racemes. The bracts are four to ten millimeters long, broadly oval, toothed, hairy and fused with the peduncle. The flower stem is 0.5 to five inches long. The flower tube is about 0.5 inches long, bell-shaped and densely covered with short. The calyx lobes are 12 to 18 millimeters long, oval to lanceolate, acute to acuminate. The are two to 3.5 inches long, oval, wrinkled, of a purple color with green stripes on the base.

The female flowers appear singly at 6.5 to 14 cm long flower stems and are slightly larger than the male flowers.

The fruit is 30 to 90 inches long and 15 to 25 inches wide, green, ellipsoidal, with a wider base. It has 10 blunt ribs and can be difficult to 13 kg. At maturity the fruit ruptures and releases the seeds. The up to 200 seeds ( 3.3 to 3.5 ) × ( 3.2 to 4.0 ) × ( 1.0 to 1.3 ) inches tall, somewhat flattened. A net-like endocarp layer remains adhere to the seed and covers the slightly warty seed coat. Due to the similarity with an oyster the way also contributes to the English common name oyster nut ( oyster nut). The seeds have up to 25 percent protein and 55 to 60 percent fat.

Dissemination and locations

The species occurs in Tanzania, Zambia and possibly in the north of Mozambique before and grows naturally in coastal rain forests and riverine forest up to 1100 m above sea level. It is often cultivated and wild in these areas also.

It grows best in shady locations. It is relatively dry tolerant and can be grown up to 2000 m above sea level.

Use and cultivation

The shoot tips and leaves are eaten cooked as a vegetable. However, the main use of the seeds. The bitter cup must be removed before further processing. The seeds are eaten raw, roasted, pickled, used in soups or processed into sweets. The oil-rich seeds are in East Africa traditional part of the diet for breastfeeding mothers. The cotyledons are processed in baked goods, chocolate and snacks. Fermented flour from the cotyledons is used in condiments, jams and baby food.

In areas with coffee plantations it is grown as part of agroforestry. Small-scale farmers rely on the blackboard squash and earn by selling the seeds an extra income.

Documents

• C. Jeffrey: Telfairia pedata, in: Flora Zambesiaca, Volume 8, 1978 (online).
• R. W. Robinson, D. S. Decker -Walters: cucurbits. CAB International, Wallingford 1997, p 111, ISBN 0-85199-133-5
• SA Ajayi, M. Dulloo E, RS Vodouhe, P. Berjak, JI Kioko: Conservation status of Telfairia spp. in sub- Saharan Africa. In: R. Vodouhe, K. Atta - Krah, G. E. Achigan - Dako, O. Eyog - Matig, H. Avohou (ed.): Plant Genetic Resources and Food Security in West and Central Africa. Biodiversity International 2007, ISBN 978-92-9043-750-5 (online pdf 136 kB)

Gallery

Telfairia pedata, female plant, illustration.