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Cyclanthera pedata

Common name:	Achoccha	Family:	Cucurbitaceae
Author:	(L.)Schrad.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	C. and S. America.
Habitat:	Not known
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	C. pedata var. edulis[G] Momordica pedata[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Accocha [H], Cyclanthera [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	pedata = foot like
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Violales. Cucumber family

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 4.5m. It is hardy to zone 10 and is frost tender. It is in flower from August to September. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland). It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Fruit Leaves.

Fruit. Young fruits are eaten raw or cooked and have a similar taste to cucumbers though they are not crisp[183, 193]. Older fruits are cooked, they can be stuffed in much the same way as marrows[183, 196]. The fruit is about 6 - 15cm long[196] and 6cm wide[200].
Leaves and tender young shoots - cooked[183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Requires a very warm, sunny and sheltered position in a rich well-drained soil[200].
The achocha is occasionally cultivated for its edible fruit in S. America, there are many named forms[196]. Plants are not very cold-hardy in Britain and are normally grown in a greenhouse. However, if the plants are started in a greenhouse in the spring and grown on well it is possible to get reasonable yields in most years outdoors in Britain. Fruiting plants have been seen outdoors on a number of occasions at Kew Botanical gardens[K].

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.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[193] Low. T. Wild Food Plants of Australia. Angus and Robertson. 1989 ISBN 0-207-14383-8
Well presented, clear information and good photographs. An interesting read for the casual reader as well as the enthusiast

[196] Popenoe. H. et al Lost Crops of the Incas National Academy Press 1990 ISBN 0-309-04264-X
An excellent book. Very readable, with lots of information and good pictures of some lesser known food plants of S. America.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
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