Biology:Melothria scabra

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Short description: Species of flowering plant

Melothria scabra
Melothria scabra fruit.jpg
Vine with fruit
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Cucurbitales
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Genus: Melothria
Species:
M. scabra
Binomial name
Melothria scabra
Naudin
Synonyms[1]
  • Melothria costensis C.Jeffrey
  • Melothria donnell-smithii var. hirtella Cogn.
  • Melothria donnell-smithii var. rotundifolia Cogn.

Melothria scabra, commonly known as the cucamelon, Mexican miniature watermelon, Mexican sour cucumber, Mexican sour gherkin, mouse melon, or pepquinos,[2][3][4] is a species of flowering plant in the cucurbit family grown for its edible fruit.[5] Its native range spans Mexico to Venezuela.[1] Fruits are about the size of grapes and taste like cucumbers with a tinge of sourness.[6] It may have been eaten by indigenous peoples before European colonization of the Americas began.[6]

Description

Melothria scabra female flower

Melothria scabra is a vine similar in morphology to Melothria pendula.[7] It has a climbing habit, and typically grows 2.5–3 m (8.2–9.8 ft) tall.[5] It is fast growing:[5] germination under favourable conditions takes approximately 10 days, with plants reaching maturity in approximately 60–75 days.[6][8] It is a perennial species, but as it is not frost hardy it is often grown as an annual.[5] Its leaves have three or five lobes, and are 3–7 cm (1.2–2.8 in) in length and width.[9] The leaf margin is undulate or dentate, the apex is caudate, and the leaf base is cordate.[9] The leaf surface is scabrous; the upper surface is covered with small hairs called trichomes.[9] Similar to some types of cucumber,[10] these plants are monoecious, producing both male (staminate) and female (pistillate) flowers on the same plant.[9][11] Flowers are small and yellow, and are approximately 4 mm (0.2 in) in diameter.[5] Unusually for the cucurbits, the female flowers appear before the male flowers.[6] These plants can pollinate themselves, but the individual flowers are not self-fertile. Each plant can produce hundreds of fruits,[8] which develop at the base of the female flowers (the ovaries are inferior).[12] Fruits are olive-shaped,[5] grow to 2.5–4 cm (1.0–1.6 in) in length, and 1.5–2.5 cm (0.6–1.0 in) in width, and are green with dark green stripes.[7] In contrast to the fruits of most other wild species in the cucurbit family, the fruit of Melothria scabra has a sweet rather than bitter flesh.[13] Plants are drought resistant and pest-resistant relative to other cucumbers.[14]

Etymology

Binomial name

The genus name Melothria is from Ancient Greek μηλοθρων: mēlothrōn 'kind of white grape' in reference to small grapevine fruits born by the genus. The specific epithet scabra is Latin for 'rough, scabby'.

Common names

The English language common name 'cucamelon' arose in the 1980s; it is a portmanteau of 'cucumber' and 'melon'.[15] The Spanish language common name 'sandita' translates as 'little watermelon';[14] its etymology is sandía 'watermelon' + ita, a suffix used to indicate something is small.[16][17]

Distribution and habitat

Melothria scabra is native to Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico,[lower-roman 1] Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela,[1] where it grows in forests and thickets.[7]

Diseases

Melothria scabra is susceptible to infection by Pseudoperonospora cubensis,[18][19][20] a plant pathogen that causes cucurbit downy mildew.[21] It is also susceptible to infection by another plant pathogen, Podosphaera xanthii, which causes powdery mildew.[22] Plants are reported to be susceptible to infection by Cucumber mosaic virus.[23]

Cultivation

Melothria scabra is cultivated as a minor crop for its fruits,[13] which are eaten raw or pickled.[24]

Notes

  1. ↑ In Mexico, Melothria scabra is native to the following WGSRPD level-3 floristic units: Mexico Central, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, and Mexico Southwest.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Melothria scabra Naudin". Kew Science. http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:293320-1. 
  2. ↑ "'Micro melons' 20 times smaller than regular size". 13 May 2009. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/5317981/Micro-melons-20-times-smaller-than-regular-size.html. Retrieved 25 June 2016. 
  3. ↑ William Woys Weaver (2005). "Mouse Melons". Mother Earth News. http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/mouse-melons.aspx#axzz2a0KbwA7q. Retrieved 2013-07-24. 
  4. ↑ "Melothria scabra (MEESC)". 2017-03-14. https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/MEESC. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 "Melothria scabra | cucamelon". Royal Horticultural Society. http://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/343231/i-Melothria-scabra-i/Details. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Mahr, Susan. "Mouse Melon or Mexican Sour Cucumber, Melothria scabra". University of Wisconsin-Madison. https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/mouse-melon-or-mexican-sour-cucumber-melothria-scabra/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Woodson, Robert E.; Schery, Robert W.; Wunderlin, Richard P. (1978). "Flora of Panama. Part IX. Family 182. Cucurbitaceae". Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 65 (1): 285–366. doi:10.2307/2395357. ISSN 0026-6493. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2395357. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Rice, Emily; Curtis, Kynda R. (2021) (in en-gb). Drought-Tolerant Options for Southwest Agriculture: Edible Produce. https://core.ac.uk/display/428380291. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 "Melothria scabra Naudin". http://worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000377170. 
  10. ↑ Pawełkowicz, Magdalena Ewa; Skarzyńska, Agnieszka; Pląder, Wojciech; Przybecki, Zbigniew (2019-03-13). "Genetic and molecular bases of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) sex determination" (in en). Molecular Breeding 39 (3): 50. doi:10.1007/s11032-019-0959-6. ISSN 1572-9788. 
  11. ↑ "Melothria L.". Kew Science. http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30043481-2. 
  12. ↑ "Melothria scabra". https://plantdatabase.kpu.ca/plant/plantDetail/1774. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Chomicki, Guillaume; Schaefer, Hanno; Renner, Susanne S. (2020). "Origin and domestication of Cucurbitaceae crops: insights from phylogenies, genomics and archaeology" (in en). New Phytologist 226 (5): 1240–1255. doi:10.1111/nph.16015. ISSN 1469-8137. PMID 31230355. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Spurrier, Jeff (2013-05-14). "Mouse melon, a.k.a. Mexican gherkin: Tiny fruit is big on cute". LA Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2013/may/14/news/la-lh-mouse-melons-mexican-gherkins-20130514. 
  15. ↑ "Definition of cucamelon". Oxford University Press. 2020. https://www.lexico.com/definition/cucamelon. 
  16. ↑ "English Translation of "sandía"". HarperCollins Publishers. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/spanish-english/sand%C3%ADa. 
  17. ↑ "Translation of "-ito" into English". Oxford University Press. 2020. https://www.lexico.com/es-en/traducir/-ito. 
  18. ↑ Wilson, Guy West (1908). "Studies in North American Peronosporales-IV. Host Index". Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 35 (11): 543–554. doi:10.2307/2479110. ISSN 0040-9618. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2479110. 
  19. ↑ Ellett, C. Wayne (1970) (in en-gb). Annotated List of the Personosporales of Ohio (I. Albuginaceae and Peronosporaceae). https://core.ac.uk/display/76294860. 
  20. ↑ Ellett, C. Wayne (1989) (in en-gb). Ohio plant disease index. https://core.ac.uk/display/159595750. 
  21. ↑ Savory, Elizabeth A.; Granke, Leah L.; Quesada-Ocampo, Lina M.; Varbanova, Marina; Hausbeck, Mary K.; Day, Brad (2011). "The cucurbit downy mildew pathogen Pseudoperonospora cubensis" (in en). Molecular Plant Pathology 12 (3): 217–226. doi:10.1111/j.1364-3703.2010.00670.x. ISSN 1364-3703. PMID 21355994. 
  22. ↑ Rennberger, G.; Kousik, C. S.; Keinath, A. P. (2017-09-06). "First Report of Powdery Mildew on Cucumis zambianus, Cucurbita digitata, and Melothria scabra Caused by Podosphaera xanthii in the United States". Plant Disease 102 (1): 246. doi:10.1094/PDIS-06-17-0916-PDN. ISSN 0191-2917. 
  23. ↑ Price, W. C. (1940). "Comparative Host Ranges of Six Plant Viruses". American Journal of Botany 27 (7): 530–541. doi:10.2307/2437088. ISSN 0002-9122. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2437088. 
  24. ↑ Watson, Sereno (1886). "Contributions to American Botany". Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 22: 396–481. doi:10.2307/25129875. ISSN 0199-9818. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25129875. 

External links

Wikidata ☰ Q929967 entry




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