Melothria scabra explained

Melothria scabra, commonly known as the cucamelon, Mexican miniature watermelon, Mexican sour cucumber, Mexican sour gherkin, mouse melon, or pepquinos,[1] [2] [3] is a species of flowering plant in the cucurbit family grown for its edible fruit.[4] Its native range spans Mexico to Venezuela. Fruits are about the size of grapes and taste like cucumbers with a tinge of sourness. It may have been eaten by indigenous peoples before the European colonization of the Americas began.[5]

Description

Melothria scabra is a vine similar in morphology to Melothria pendula.[6] It has a climbing habit, and typically grows NaN1NaN1 tall. It is fast growing: germination under favourable conditions takes approximately 10 days, with plants reaching maturity in approximately 60–75 days.[7] It is a perennial species, but as it is not frost hardy it is often grown as an annual. Its leaves have three or five lobes, and are NaN1NaN1 in length and width.[8] The leaf margin is undulate or dentate, the apex is caudate, and the leaf base is cordate. The leaf surface is scabrous; the upper surface is covered with small hairs called trichomes. Similar to some types of cucumber,[9] these plants are monoecious, producing both male (staminate) and female (pistillate) flowers on the same plant.[10] Flowers are small and yellow, and are approximately 41NaN1 in diameter. Unusually for the cucurbits, the female flowers appear before the male flowers. These plants can pollinate themselves, but the individual flowers are not self-fertile. Each plant can produce hundreds of fruits, which develop at the base of the female flowers (the ovaries are inferior).[11] Fruits are olive-shaped, grow to NaN1NaN1 in length, and NaN1NaN1 in width, and are green with dark green stripes. In contrast to the fruits of most other wild species in the cucurbit family, the fruit of Melothria scabra has a sweet rather than bitter flesh.[12] Plants are drought resistant and pest-resistant relative to other cucumbers.[13]

Etymology

Binomial name

The genus name is from Ancient Greek μηλοθρων: mēlothrōn 'kind of white grape' in reference to small grapevine fruits born by the genus. The specific epithet is Latin for 'rough, scabby.

Common names

The English language common name 'cucamelon' arose in the 1980s; it is a portmanteau of 'cucumber' and 'melon'.[14] The Spanish language common name '' translates as 'little watermelon'; its etymology is 'watermelon' + ita, a suffix used to indicate something is small.[15] [16]

Distribution and habitat

Melothria scabra is native to Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela, where it grows in forests and thickets.

Diseases

Melothria scabra is susceptible to infection by Pseudoperonospora cubensis,[17] [18] [19] a plant pathogen that causes cucurbit downy mildew.[20] It is also susceptible to infection by another plant pathogen, Podosphaera xanthii, which causes powdery mildew.[21] Plants are reported to be susceptible to infection by Cucumber mosaic virus.[22]

Cultivation

Melothria scabra is cultivated as a minor crop for its fruits, which are eaten raw or pickled.[23]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 'Micro melons' 20 times smaller than regular size . The Daily Telegraph . 13 May 2009 . 25 June 2016.
  2. Web site: Mouse Melons. William Woys Weaver. 2005. Mother Earth News. 2013-07-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20130729111104/http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/mouse-melons.aspx#axzz2a0KbwA7q. 2013-07-29. dead.
  3. Web site: 2017-03-14. Melothria scabra (MEESC). 2021-06-20. EPPO Global Database.
  4. Web site: Melothria scabra cucamelon. 2021-06-20. rhs.org.uk. Royal Horticultural Society.
  5. Web site: Mahr. Susan. Mouse Melon or Mexican Sour Cucumber, Melothria scabra. 2021-06-20. Wisconsin Horticulture. University of Wisconsin-Madison.
  6. Woodson. Robert E.. Schery. Robert W.. Wunderlin. Richard P.. 1978. Flora of Panama. Part IX. Family 182. Cucurbitaceae. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 65. 1. 285–366. 10.2307/2395357. 2395357 . 0026-6493.
  7. Rice. Emily. Curtis. Kynda R.. 2021. Drought-Tolerant Options for Southwest Agriculture: Edible Produce. en-gb.
  8. Web site: Melothria scabra Naudin. 2021-06-20. worldfloraonline.org.
  9. Pawełkowicz. Magdalena Ewa. Skarzyńska. Agnieszka. Pląder. Wojciech. Przybecki. Zbigniew. 2019-03-13. Genetic and molecular bases of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) sex determination. Molecular Breeding. en. 39. 3. 50. 10.1007/s11032-019-0959-6. 1572-9788. free.
  10. Web site: Melothria L.. 2021-06-21. Plants of the World Online. Kew Science.
  11. Web site: Melothria scabra. 2021-06-20. Kwantlen Polytechnic University School of Horticulture Plant Database.
  12. Chomicki. Guillaume. Schaefer. Hanno. Renner. Susanne S.. 2020. Origin and domestication of Cucurbitaceae crops: insights from phylogenies, genomics and archaeology. New Phytologist. en. 226. 5. 1240–1255. 10.1111/nph.16015. 31230355 . 1469-8137. free.
  13. News: Spurrier. Jeff. Mouse melon, a.k.a. Mexican gherkin: Tiny fruit is big on cute. LA Times. 2013-05-14.
  14. Web site: 2020. Definition of cucamelon. https://web.archive.org/web/20210304063203/https://www.lexico.com/definition/cucamelon. March 4, 2021. live. 2021-06-20. Lexico.com. Oxford University Press.
  15. Web site: English Translation of "sandía". 2021-06-20. Collins Spanish-English Dictionary. HarperCollins Publishers.
  16. Web site: 2020. Translation of "-ito" into English. https://web.archive.org/web/20200814081811/https://www.lexico.com/es-en/traducir/-ito. August 14, 2020. live. 2021-06-20. Lexico.com. Oxford University Press.
  17. Wilson. Guy West. 1908. Studies in North American Peronosporales-IV. Host Index. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 35. 11. 543–554. 10.2307/2479110. 2479110 . 0040-9618.
  18. Ellett. C. Wayne. 1970. Annotated List of the Personosporales of Ohio (I. Albuginaceae and Peronosporaceae). en-gb.
  19. Ellett. C. Wayne. 1989. Ohio plant disease index. en-gb.
  20. Savory. Elizabeth A.. Granke. Leah L.. Quesada-Ocampo. Lina M.. Varbanova. Marina. Hausbeck. Mary K.. Day. Brad. 2011. The cucurbit downy mildew pathogen Pseudoperonospora cubensis. Molecular Plant Pathology. en. 12. 3. 217–226. 10.1111/j.1364-3703.2010.00670.x. 1364-3703. 6640371. 21355994.
  21. Rennberger. G.. Kousik. C. S.. Keinath. A. P.. 2017-09-06. First Report of Powdery Mildew on Cucumis zambianus, Cucurbita digitata, and Melothria scabra Caused by Podosphaera xanthii in the United States. Plant Disease. 102. 1. 246. 10.1094/PDIS-06-17-0916-PDN. 0191-2917. free.
  22. Price. W. C.. 1940. Comparative Host Ranges of Six Plant Viruses. American Journal of Botany. 27. 7. 530–541. 10.2307/2437088. 2437088 . 0002-9122.
  23. Watson. Sereno. 1886. Contributions to American Botany. Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 22. 396–481. 10.2307/25129875. 25129875 . 0199-9818.

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