Acanthosicyos

Acanthosicyos is a genus with only two species that grows in Southern Africa. The Gemsbok Cucumber; Acanthosicyos naudiniana is found as a trailing herb throughout much of western Botswana, Eastern Namibia and Northern South Africa. The Nara melon, Acanthosicyos horridus is only found along a narrow coastal strip in Namibia. It is almost exclusively found in sand dunes that have subterranean water supplies available to the plant. The nara plant is leafless, the modified stems and spines serve as the photosynthetic "organs" of the plant. Both the Nara and the Gemsbok Cucumber are edible, however eating unripe fruit is highly unadvisable due to the presence of chemicals which "burn" the throat and esophagus. The Bushman of the Kalahari eat the Gemsbok Cucumber after it has been roasted in a fire for a couple of hours. This cooking renders the "burning" chemicals harmless, even if the cooked pulp is still slightly bitter, the Bushman seem to relish eating them , sucking out the contents and either spitting out or chewing up the plentiful seeds.

The Nara melon has long been a food source for the Topnaar People of Namibia, both the ripe fruit and the seeds are a valuable food resource. The ripe fruits are eaten raw, the "heart" of the melon being the preferred part, and the rest being eaten the raw hard seeds being spit out. Alternatively, the seeds (pips) are prepared by scooping out the fleshy contents, cooking it by boiling and then straining off the cooked fruit puree from the seeds. The "fruit puree is then filtered through a sieve onto the sand and the resultant "fruit leather" ( after drying) is cleaned of the sand and used for later consumption.

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|image = Naras auf Düne Sossusvlei.JPG |image_caption = Acanthosicyos in situ |regnum = Plantae |unranked_divisio = Angiosperms |unranked_classis = Eudicots |unranked_ordo = Rosids |ordo = Cucurbitales |familia = Cucurbitaceae |subfamilia = Cucurbitoideae |tribus = Benincaseae |subtribus = Benincasinae |genus = Acanthosicyos |genus_authority = Welw. ex Benth. & Hook.f. |subdivision_ranks = Species |subdivision = * Acanthosicyos horridus

• Acanthosicyos naudinianus

|synonyms = Acanthosicyus Post & Kuntze, orth. var. |}}

Acanthosicyos is a genus of thorny shrubs of the botanical family Cucurbitaceae, subfamily Cucurbitoideae. The genus name derives from the Greek words "akantha" for thorn and "sykios" for cucumber or gourd. Endemic to the Namib Desert in Africa, this genus is represented by two known species including Acanthosicyos horridus, the nara melon, an important food plant in its native range.

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  Acanthosicyos horridus fruit

References

• International Plant Names Index
• [1]