Taxon:
Melothria sphaerocarpa (Cogn.) H. Schaef. & S. S. Renner
Summary
Place of publication:
Taxon 60:134. 2011
Verified:
04/28/2011
ARS Systematic Botanists.
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Reference(s)
- Schaefer, H. & S. S. Renner. 2010. A gift from the New World? The West African crop Cucumeropsis mannii and the American Posadaea sphaerocarpa (Cucurbitaceae) are the same species. Syst. Bot. 35:534-540. www.aspt.net/systematic-botany
- Schaefer, H. & S. S. Renner. 2011. Phylogenetic relationships in the order Cucurbitales and a new classification of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae). Taxon 60:122-138. URL: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iapt/tax
Common names
English
dark egusi – egusi-itoo – white-seed-melon – French
égousi – egousi-itoo – gousi – Portuguese
lipupu –
Distribution
order_code | Status | Continent | Subcontinent | Country | State | Note |
1 | Native | Africa | Northeast Tropical Africa | Sudan | | s. |
1 | Native | Africa | South Tropical Africa | Angola | | |
1 | Native | Africa | West Tropical Africa | Côte D'Ivoire | | |
1 | Native | Africa | West Tropical Africa | Ghana | | |
1 | Native | Africa | West Tropical Africa | Guinea-Bissau | | |
1 | Native | Africa | West Tropical Africa | Liberia | | |
1 | Native | Africa | West Tropical Africa | Nigeria | | |
1 | Native | Africa | West Tropical Africa | Sierra Leone | | |
1 | Native | Africa | West-Central Tropical Africa | Cameroon | | |
1 | Native | Africa | West-Central Tropical Africa | Central African Republic | | |
1 | Native | Africa | West-Central Tropical Africa | Democratic Republic of the Congo | | |
1 | Native | Africa | West-Central Tropical Africa | Equatorial Guinea | | |
1 | Native | Southern America | Brazil | Brazil | Amazonas | |
1 | Native | Southern America | Brazil | Brazil | Pará | |
1 | Native | Southern America | Caribbean | Dominican Republic | | |
1 | Native | Southern America | Caribbean | Trinidad and Tobago | Trinidad | |
1 | Native | Southern America | Northern South America | Guyana | | |
1 | Native | Southern America | Northern South America | Venezuela | Amazonas | |
1 | Native | Southern America | Northern South America | Venezuela | Barinas | |
1 | Native | Southern America | Northern South America | Venezuela | Carabobo | |
1 | Native | Southern America | Northern South America | Venezuela | Cojedes | |
1 | Native | Southern America | Northern South America | Venezuela | Delta Amacuro | |
1 | Native | Southern America | Northern South America | Venezuela | Lara | |
1 | Native | Southern America | Northern South America | Venezuela | Merida | |
1 | Native | Southern America | Northern South America | Venezuela | Portuguesa | |
1 | Native | Southern America | Northern South America | Venezuela | Sucre | |
1 | Native | Southern America | Northern South America | Venezuela | Yaracuy | |
1 | Native | Southern America | Western South America | Bolivia | | |
1 | Native | Southern America | Western South America | Colombia | | |
1 | Native | Southern America | Western South America | Ecuador | | |
2 | Cultivated | Africa | West Tropical Africa | Côte D'Ivoire | | |
2 | Cultivated | Africa | West Tropical Africa | Nigeria | | |
2 | Cultivated | Africa | West-Central Tropical Africa | Cameroon | | |
2 | Cultivated | Africa | West-Central Tropical Africa | Central African Republic | | |
Native
Africa
-
NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA:
Sudan (s.)
-
WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA:
Central African Republic, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea
-
WEST TROPICAL AFRICA:
Côte D'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone
-
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA:
Angola
Southern America
-
CARIBBEAN:
Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago [Trinidad]
-
NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA:
Guyana, Venezuela [Merida, Amazonas, Barinas, Cojedes, Portuguesa, Sucre, Carabobo, Lara, Yaracuy, Delta Amacuro]
-
BRAZIL:
Brazil [Amazonas, Pará]
-
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA:
Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador
Cultivated
Africa
-
WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA:
Central African Republic, Cameroon
-
WEST TROPICAL AFRICA:
Côte D'Ivoire, Nigeria
Economic Uses
Usage | Type | Note | Reference |
Human food | oil/fat | seeds are rich in oil and contain more protein than peanuts fide Use Pl WT Afr, as Cucumeropsis mannii | Burkill, H. M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa. 1:577. |
Human food | seeds | as Cucumeropsis mannii | PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource). URL: http://www.prota4u.info/ |