Lagenaria sphaerica
Lagenaria sphaerica E.Mey.
Lagenaria sphaerica is a herbaceous climber in the Cucurbitaceae family, commonly known as the wild melon. It is a monoecious vine with tendrils, reaching up to 50 m in height. The plant is native to Nigeria and is widely distributed in Akwa Ibom State, where it was found in 100% of sampling points. It is abundant in 73% of the plots, frequent in 20%, and rare in 7%.
Description
Lagenaria sphaerica is a climbing herb with a stem diameter of 0.2–0.3 cm and bifid, spirally coiled tendrils. The leaves are simple, alternate, petiolate, and palmately lobed, measuring 7–15 × 6–20 cm. The inflorescence is cymose, with male flowers having a tubular calyx and white corolla with five free petals. The fruit is a round pepo, 5–7 cm in diameter, smooth, green with white and yellow patches, and many-seeded. Seeds are flat, 1.0–1.4 × 0.6–0.8 cm. It is found in multiple locations in Akwa Ibom State, including Ini, Uyo, and Oron.
Synonyms
Lagenaria sphaerocarpaLuffa sphaericaLagenaria mascarenaSphaerosicyos sphaericus
