Common Name: Cuchinito

General Information

Cyclanthera brachystachya is an annual plant producing stems around 3 metres long that scramble over the ground or climb into other plants, attaching themselves by means of tendrils[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for its edible fruit, which is consumed locally. It is also sometimes cultivated locally[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

S. America - Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela; C. America - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala north to Mexico.

Habitat

Thickets, at elevations from 800 - 2,000 metres in Guatemala[]. Shrublands in the Andes at elevations of 1,500 - 3,500 metres.

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Annual Climber
Height	3.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of higher elevations in the tropics, where it is found at elevations of 800 - 3,500 metres[, ]. Plants tolerate more cold than many cucurbits[].
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[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked[]. Eaten in salads, pickled, or boiled in the same way as a squash[]. The greenish fruit is up to 4cm long[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

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.