Practical
Plants

Cyclanthera brachystachya

an annual member of the Cyclanthera genus in the family Cucurbitaceae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Life cycle
annual
Height
3 m
Fertility
Insects
Flower type
monoecious
Pollinators
Insects

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Fruit - raw or cooked[1]. The fruit is up to 4cm long[2].

Plant part
Fruit

Environment

Range
C. and S. America - Mexico to Colombia and Ecuador.
Habitat
Not known
Shade tolerance
partial shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 10+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - sow mid spring in a rich compost in a warm greenhouse. Put 2 or 3 seeds in a pot and thin the seedlings to the strongest plant. Plant out after the last expected frost and give the plants some protection such as a cloche until they are growing away well.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Requires a warm sunny and sheltered position in a rich well-drained soil. Plants are not very cold hardy in Britain and so are normally grown in a greenhouse. However, if they are started in a greenhouse in the spring and grown on well it is possible to get reasonable yields in most years outdoors in this country. Plants have been seen outdoors in an open sunny position at Kew on several occasions with ripe fruit[K]. Plants tolerate more cold than many cucurbits[1].

References

  1. Popenoe. H. et al Lost Crops of the Incas National Academy Press 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-309-04264-X

    ↩1↩2

  2. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩

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