Cyclanthera pedata Schrad., Cucurbitaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 1 (Go to the risk assessment).

Other Latin names:  Momordica pedata L.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: xiao que gua

English: achocha, cyclanthera, lady's-slipper, slipper goard, stuffing gourd, wild cucumber

French: achocha, concombre grimpant

Spanish: achogcha, caiba, caigua, caihau, caygua, pepino de comer, pepino de rellenar, pepino hueco

Habit:  vine

Description:  "Annual vines to several meters long, the stems branched, glabrous; leaves on glabrous petioles 1-8 cm long, blades broadly ovate to orbicular, pedately lobate, margins serrulate to deeply dentate, essentially glabrous, 2.5-20 cm long and about as broad, lateral leaflets pedately lobed; staminate flowers: in panicles with few-several (rarely many) flowers confined to upper half or less of peduncle, receptacle to 3.5 mm wide, sepals obscure or to 2 mm long, corolla obscurely papillate, whitish, 3-6 mm across, filament column to 0.75 mm long, androecial head to 1.5 mm wide; pistillate flowers: subsessile, stigmas sessile, to 2.5 mm broad, with a depressed center; fruiting peduncles 0.5-2 cm long; fruits greenish white, striate, lacrimiform and somewhat gibbous, not explosively dehiscent, to 15 cm long and 6 cm in diameter, setae none or few, confined to abaxial part of the fruit; seeds black, more or less turtle-shaped, 12-16 mm long" (Nash, 1976; p. 336).

Habitat/ecology:  In Guatemala, "perhaps only in cultivation or as an escape, about 1,500 m" (Nash, 1976; p. 336).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Probable origin in Andean South America; cultivated elsewhere (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008) var. edulis
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Volcán Sierra Negra, Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008) var. edulis
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008) var. edulis
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008) var. edulis
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1986) (voucher ID: BISH 503198) Taxon name on voucher: Cyclanthera pedata Schrad.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Costa Rica (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Guatemala (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Honduras (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Nicaragua (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Panama (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013) Cultivated. Xizang, Yunnan.
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	introduced cultivated	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Colombia	probably native cultivated	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	probably native cultivated	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Perú (Republic of)	probably native cultivated	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Taiwan Taiwan Island	Taiwan Island	introduced cultivated	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Control:  If you know of control methods for Cyclanthera pedata, please let us know.