Dioecious, much-branched, spiny shrub or scrambler
Leaves rudimentary or palmatifid
Tendrils spine-like or 0
Male flowers axillary, solitary or subfascicled: calyx 5-lobed, tube ± campanulate or obconical, leathery, lobes ovate; corolla 5-lobed, lobes ± quadrate, subtruncate, ribbed, glandular-papillose; stamens 3 or 5, inserted in calyx tube, filaments free, broadly linear, villous, anthers 2-thecous or with one 1-thecous, connective dilated; pistil rudimentary, 2-lobed or 0
Female flowers solitary: calyx and corolla as in male, but more leathery; staminodes present; ovary ovoid, with 3-5 placentas and many ovules, tuberculate, stigmas 3-5, capitate, 2-lobed or depressed and saucer-shaped (sometimes all forms in a single flower)
Fruit subglobose, ± size of a large orange, covered with hard protuberances, many-seeded, indehiscent
Seeds elliptic, subcompressed, smooth
Nomenclature:
Acanthosicyos Welw. ex Hook.f.
Hooker: 824 (1867)
Meeuse: 52 (1962)
Launert & Roessler: 5 (1968)
Jeffrey: 433 (1978)
Distribution & Notes:
Global: Species 2, Africa
Southern Africa: Both in southern Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Northern Province, North-West, Gauteng, Free State, Northern Cape
References:
HOOKER, J.D. 1867. Cucurbitaceae. In G. Bentham & J.D. Hooker, Genera plantarum 1. Reeve, London
JEFFREY, C. 1978. Cucurbitaceae. Flora zambesiaca 4
LAUNERT, E. & ROESSLER, H. 1968. Cucurbitaceae. Prodromus einer Flora von Südwestafrika 94
MEEUSE, A.D.J. 1962. The Cucurbitaceae of southern Africa. Bothalia 8
Copyright of the content hosted by this website remains with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), unless stated otherwise. Material from this site may be used in other media, provided that SANBI is acknowledged by the name South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) or refer to the 'How to cite this resource' paragraph on the Home page. Liability disclaimer: Visitors use this site at their own risk and SANBI is not liable for any of the consequences resulting therefrom.
Welcome to Biodiversity Advisor 2.0!
Biodiversity Advisor, developed by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and its Data Partners, is a system that will provide integrated biodiversity information to a wide range of users who will have access to geospatial data, plant and animal species distribution data, ecosystem-level data, literature, images and metadata.
The integrated information comes from our much-loved Botanical Database of Southern Africa (BODATSA) also known as Plants of Southern Africa (POSA), Zoological Database of Southern Africa (ZODATSA), Biodiversity Geographic Information System (BGIS), SANBI's institutional repository (Opus) and others.
The system is still under development, so you may find a few bugs/issues. If you do, please report it via the error reporting button available in various sections of the website or provide us with any useful feedback you may have via the ‘Give us feedback’ option available in the sidebar menu. You can create a free account for yourself by clicking on the user profile icon which will take you through to the login page. Here you can choose the ‘Create an account’ option or simply fill in your details if you have an account already. Having an account on Biodiversity Advisor will provide users with free access to biodiversity resources.
In future, Team SANBI will be able to log in using their day-to-day login details, BGIS users will be able to use their existing accounts and details, and general users will be able to log in using their LinkedIn profile, but for now you will need to create an account.
