Sechium
Sechium subsp. var. | Chaco, Chayote, Chocho | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sechium is a genus in subtribe Sicyinea of the tribe Sicyeae of the gourd family Cucurbitaceae.
Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture |
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Sechium (probably from the Greek sekos, "to fatten in a fold," because it was fed to hogs). Cucurbitaceae. A climbing sparsely hairy herb, with perennial tuberous roots, grown in tropical and subtropical regions for its large fruits, which somewhat resemble the summer squash in use and character. Leaves membranaceous, 3-angled or -lobed, cordate at the base; tendrils 2-5-branched, opposite the lvs.: fls. small, monoecious, axillary, the pistillate solitary, the staminate in small clusters; calyx-tube saucer-shaped, the limb 5-lobed; corolla rotate, deeply 5- parted, the segms. ovate-lanceolate; filaments and styles connate into a central column, of which the anthers appear as lobes, while the stigmas are closely set together, forming a small head: fr. pear-shaped or globose, fleshy, 1-seeded.—One species, indigenous in Mex. and Cent. Amer. and widely planted. CH
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Cultivation
Propagation
Pests and diseases
Species
S.chinantlense
S.compositum
S. edule - chayote
S.hintonii
S.pittieri
S.venosum
Gallery
References
- Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963