Cyclanthera brachystachya
(Ser.)Cogn.
Cucurbitaceae
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Common Name: Cuchinito
Fruiting plant
Photograph by: BotBln
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
Fruiting plant
Photograph by: BotBln
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
Fruit, flowers and leaf
Photograph by: Andel Früh
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5
Female (left) and male flowers
Photograph by: H. Zell
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
Remains of the fruit after it has 'exploded' to eject the seed
Photograph by: H. Zell
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
Seeds
Photograph by: Andel Früh
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5
General Information
Cyclanthera brachystachya is an annual plant that can grow up to 3.00 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food.
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
200- Title
- The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Huxley. A.
- Publisher
- MacMillan Press
- Year
- 1992
- ISBN
- 0-333-47494-5
- Description
- Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
Range
C. and S. America - Mexico to Colombia and Ecuador.
Habitat
Shrublands in the Andes at elevations of 1500 - 3500 metres.
Properties
| Edibility Rating |  |
| Habit | Annual |
| Height | 3.00 m |
| Pollinators | Insects |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
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- Title
- Plants for a Future
- Author
- Ken Fern
- Description
- Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
]. Plants tolerate more cold than many cucurbits[
196- Title
- Lost Crops of the Incas
- Publication
-
- Author
- Popenoe. H. et al
- Publisher
- National Academy Press
- Year
- 1990
- ISBN
- 0-309-04264-X
- Description
- An excellent book. Very readable, with lots of information and good pictures of some lesser known food plants of S. America.
].
Edible Uses
Fruit - raw or cooked[
196- Title
- Lost Crops of the Incas
- Publication
-
- Author
- Popenoe. H. et al
- Publisher
- National Academy Press
- Year
- 1990
- ISBN
- 0-309-04264-X
- Description
- An excellent book. Very readable, with lots of information and good pictures of some lesser known food plants of S. America.
]. The fruit is up to 4cm long[
200- Title
- The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Huxley. A.
- Publisher
- MacMillan Press
- Year
- 1992
- ISBN
- 0-333-47494-5
- Description
- Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
].
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.
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Useful Temperate Plants Database 2016 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
