Bitter apple
Cucumis zeyheri

Family: Cucurbitaceae

What it is like

A herb. It is a pumpkin family plant. It keeps growing from year to year. It has a woody rootstock. Kinds with non bitter fruit have to be chosen. The leaves are 3-9 cm long by 2-6 cm wide. The leaves usually have 3-5 deep lobes. These are triangle shaped. Male and female flowers are separate on the same plant. Male flowers occur singly and also the female flowers. The flowers are yellow. The fruit are 3-5 cm long by 2-4 cm wide. They are oblong and softly spiny. The seeds are 5-8 mm long and about 2 mm wide. They are whitish. Plants can be diploid or tetraploid.

There are about 25 Cucumis species.

Where it is found

It is a subtropical plant. It grows in open woodland and grassland. It grows between 300-1,650 m altitude.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Australia, Botswana, East Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

Caution: The fruit are claimed to be poisonous. They are very bitter. Non bitter fruit are eaten raw or pickled. The non bitter kinds are used for jam. The leaves are cooked as a vegetable.

It is of some importance locally. It is cultivated.

Edible parts

Fruit, leaves, caution, vegetable

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Gumutsha, Indzema, Mankolobwe, Tshinyagu, Tsinyagu

Synonyms

Cucumis africanus AUCT.; Cucumis africanus L. f. var. zeyheri (Sond.) Burtt Davy; Cucumis diniae van Raamsdonk & Viesser; Cucumis prophetarum L. subsp. zeyheri (Sond.) C. Jeffrey; Cucumis filicifolius sensu Watt and Breyer-Brandwick;