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Cucumeropsis mannii
Cucurbitaceae FAMILY

Cucumeropsis mannii

Cucumeropsis mannii

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

In E Cameroon the root has been recorded as being poisonous[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial Climber
Growth—

Growing best in dappled shade, the plant does not do well in the open or on flat land[2]. Grows best in a soil rich in manure or partially decomposed organic matter[2]. The seed is usually sown at the start of the rainy season and a crop of seeds can be harvested 6 - 8 months later[2]. Under extensive management, where planted around remaining trunks of trees, seed yield can be about 300 kilos per hectare[2]. In more intensive cropping systems, where land has been cleared and burnt before cultivation, it may reach 900 kilos[2]. A plant usually produces 2 - 5 fruits; each fruit weighs 0.8 - 1.8 kilos and contains 90 - 400 seeds (up to 100g)[2].

Propagation

Seed - usually sown in situ, placing 3 - 4 seeds in each planting hole. Germination usually takes place in 6 - 8 days[2]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Cucumeropsis+mannii>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. — Burkil. H. M. · Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. · 1985 - 2004 ↩︎Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
  2. [2]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
  3. [3]African Flowering Plants Database — Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. · http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php ↩︎Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
  4. [4]Traditional Vegetables in Benin — Achigan-Dako E. Et al · Darwin Initiative; International Foundation for Science · 2009 ↩︎Issued as a PDF on the Internet, it contains basic information on over 250 species of plants used for food in Benin.