- Telfairia occidentalis
Taxobox
name = "Telfairia occidentalis"
regnum =Plant ae
divisio =Magnoliophyta
classis =Magnoliopsida
ordo =Cucurbitales
familia =Cucurbitaceae
genus = "Telfairia "
species = "T. occidentalis"
binomial = "Telfairia occidentalis"
binomial_authority = Hook.f."Telfairia occidentalis" is a tropical
vine grown inWest Africa as aleaf vegetable and for its edibleseed s. Common names for the plant include fluted gourd, fluted pumpkin, iroko, and ugu. Ugwu is also a Nigerian surname particular with people fromEnugu state in easternNigeria .The plant is
dioecious , perennial, anddrought-tolerant . It is usually growntrellis ed.The young
shoot s andleaves of the female plant are the main ingredient ofNigeria n edikang ikongsoup .The large (up to 5 cm), dark red seed is rich in
fat andprotein , and can be eaten whole, ground into powder for another kind of soup, or made into a fermentedporridge .The fruit of the plant is large, reaching 13 kg, but inedible.
External links
* [http://www.fao.org/docrep/X5043E/x5043E07.htm Minor oil crops at the FAO]
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