Dark egusi

Where does Dark egusi grow?

Found in: Africa, Angola, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Colombia, Congo DR, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Ecuador, Equatorial-Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, Trinidad, Uganda, Venezuela, West Africa

Status: It is a commercially cultivated vegetable.

Growing Dark egusi

Cultivation: Plants are grown from seed. Often 3-4 seeds are planted in a hole. The seedlings appear within 6-8 days. It is often intercropped and allowed to climb stakes.

Edible Uses: The seeds are parched and pounded to remove the seed coat. The kernels are crushed and added to soups and stews. The seeds are roasted and eaten as a snack. The flesh of the fruit is edible but not commonly used.

Production: Fruit are collected when the stems have dried and the fruit have changed from green to pale yellow or white. Seed yields can be 300-900 kg per hectare. After harvest fruit are cracked or split open and allowed to rot for 14-20 days to help remove the seed from the pulp. (This creates a smell so is done away from houses.) The seeds are washed and covered with sand to prevent sticking. They are then dried and stored.

Nutrition Info

References

Abbiw, D.K., 1990, Useful Plants of Ghana. West African uses of wild and cultivated plants. Intermediate Technology Publications and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. p 40 (As Cucumeropsis edulis)

Achigan-Dako, E, et al (Eds), 2009, Catalogue of Traditional Vegetables in Benin. International Foundation for Science.

Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot. ser. 5, 5:30. 1866

Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 1. Kew.

Busson, 1965,

Dalziel, J. M., 1937, The Useful plants of west tropical Africa. Crown Agents for the Colonies London.

Dansi, A., et al, 2008, Traditional leafy vegetables and their use in the Benin Republic. Genet Resour Crop Evol (2008) 55:1239–1256

Dansi, A., et al, 2012, Diversity of the Neglected and Underutilized Crop Species of Importance in Benin. The Scientific World Journal. Volume 2012, Article ID 932947, 19 pages

Egunjobi, J.K. & Adebisi, A.A., 2004. Cucumeropsis mannii Naudin. [Internet] Record from Protabase. Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa), Wageningen, Netherlands. < http://database.prota.org/search.htm>. Accessed 15 October 2009. Epenhuijsen C.W. van., 1974, Growing Native vegetables in Nigeria. FAO Rome, p 61 (As Cucumeropsis edulis)

Esquinas-Alcazar, et al, 1983, Genetic Resources of Cucurbitaceae. International Board of Plant Genetic Resources.

Grivetti, L. E., 1980, Agricultural development: present and potential role of edible wild plants. Part 2: Sub-Saharan Africa, Report to the Department of State Agency for International Development. p 33 (As Cucumeropsis edulis)

Grubben, G. J. H. and Denton, O. A. (eds), 2004, Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands. p 235

Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 229 (As Cucumeropsis edulis)

Heywood, V.H., Brummitt, R.K., Culham, A., and Seberg, O. 2007, Flowering Plant Families of the World. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. p 117

Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2.p 42, 71

Kamda, A. G. S., et al, 2014, Protective effect of edible Cucurbitaceae seed extract from Cameroon against oxidative stress. Environmental Engineering and Management Journal. Vol. 13, No. 7, 1721-1727

Kays, S. J., and Dias, J. C. S., 1995, Common Names of Commercially Cultivated Vegetables of the World in 15 languages. Economic Botany, Vol. 49, No. 2, pp. 115-152

Latham, P., 2004, Useful Plants of Bas-Congo province. Salvation Army & DFID p 101

Loukou, A. L., et al, 2006, Macronutrient composition of three cucurbit species cultivated for seed consumption in Côte d'Ivoire. Afr. J. Biotechnol.

Mosango M., Szafranski F., 1985, Plantes sauvages à fruits comestibles dans les environs de Kisangani (Zaïre). In: Journal d'agriculture traditionnelle et de botanique appliquée, 32e année, pp. 177-190

Nyadanu, D., et al, 2015, Agro-biodiversity and challenges of on-farm conservation: the case of plant genetic resources of neglected and underutilized crop species in Ghana. Genet. Resourc. Crop Evol. 62(7): (As Cucumeropsis edulis)

Okigbo, B.N., Vegetables in Tropical Africa, in Opena, R.T. & Kyomo, M.L., 1990, Vegetable Research and development in SADCC countries. Asian Vegetable Research and development Centre. Taiwan. p 38

Okigbo, B.N., Vegetables in Tropical Africa, in Opena, R.T. & Kyomo, M.L., 1990, Vegetable Research and development in SADCC countries. Asian Vegetable Research and development Centre. Taiwan. p 38 (As Cucumeropsis edulis)

Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 100

Segnon, A. C. & Achigan-Dako, E. G., 2014, Comparative analysis of diversity and utilization of edible plants in arid and semi-arid areas in Benin. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2014, 10:80

Terra, G.J.A., 1973, Tropical Vegetables. Communication 54e Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, p 42

Ubani, O. N., 1993, Food Chemistry 47: 7-10 Storage properties of melon seeds (Cucumeriopsis edulis)

van Wyk, B., 2005, Food Plants of the World. An illustrated guide. Timber press. p 160

Vickery, M.L. and Vickery, B., 1979, Plant Products of Tropical Africa, Macmillan. p 39

Vickery, M.L. and Vickery, B., 1979, Plant Products of Tropical Africa, Macmillan. p 39 (As Cucumeropsis edulis)

World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (As Melothria sphaerocarpa)