Kedrostis africana
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| Kedrostis africana | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Cucurbitales |
| Family: | Cucurbitaceae |
| Genus: | Kedrostis |
| Species: | K. africana |
| Binomial name | |
| Kedrostis africana | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 934.58 kJ (223.37 kcal) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
46.36 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dietary fibre | 25.52 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1.12 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6.95 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This data is derived from a nutritional evaluation.[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| †Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults,[2] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.[3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kedrostis africana (or baboon's cucumber) is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae. It is native to Namibia and South Africa.[4][5]
Related species
It is a succulent monoecious plant, with a large underground tuber, called a caudex which can span to lengths of up to 50 cm. This caudex is a store of water, which enables the plant to be somewhat resistant to droughts.[4][6]
It develops long climbing stems that reach between 1 – 6m in length. Its lobed leaves are between 6 – 10 cm long.[4]
Baboon's cucumbers form short racemes consisting of 1–12 male flowers. Their petals are light cream to green-yellow coloured. Female flowers are not grouped like male flowers and are also light cream to green-yellow. They bloom during the summer.[4][7]
They also bear orange fruit, with a diameter between 8 – 15mm.[4]
Kedrostis africana is often confused with its relatives in the same genus.
It can be distinguished from Kedrostis capensis by its more glabrous leaves and its much smaller flowers with male and female flowers developing in the same axils. The flowers of K. capensis also usually appear before the leaves do.
It can be distinguished from Kedrostis nana by its being monoecious, with more herbaceous leaves that are deeply pinnate and dissected.[8]
Distribution
This species is indigenous to southern Africa, occurring from Namibia in the north west, southwards as far as Worcester and the Gourits River valley, through the Karoo as far as Port Elizabeth in the south east, and northwards to KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga in the north east.[9]