Sechium edule (Jacq.) Sw., Cucurbitaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chamorro: choyote

English: chayote, cho-cho, christophine, pipinella, vegetable pear

French: chayotte, chou-chou, chouchou, chouchoute, christofine, christophine

Hawaiian: pīpīnola

Other: chayote, choyote

Spanish: chocho, pipinela, tallote

Habit:  vine

Description:  "Perennial climber; somewhat resembling the cucumber plant; leaves slightly rough, broadly cordate entire or somewhat angled 10-20 cm long; staminate flowers pale green, in long racemes; pistillate flowers solitary; corolla 12-17 mm broad; ovary 5-grooved; fruit pyriform, containing one seed, pale green to white, in some forms set with soft spines, with a few shallow, narrow, longitudinal grooves, usually slightly bumpy, 7-20 cm long"  (Stone, 1970).

"Stems climbing to 40 ft. high; rootstock tuberous.  Leaf petioles to 6 inches long; blades broadly ovate, to 10 inches x 10 inches, 3- or 5-angled or shallowly lobed, shortly-rough-hairy, base cordate, lobe apexes tapering.  Inflorescences (staminate) to 10 inches long.  Flower corolla ±0.5 inches in diameter, green; pistillate flower stalks ±0.5 inches long.  Fruit pear-shaped, 3-8 inches long, green to white, smooth, furrowed, or sparsely and softly spiny.  Seed large, clinging to flesh, protruding from fruit apex"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 269).

Habitat/ecology:  Full sun and ample water.  In the tropics, it does best in cooler climates above 1,000 feet elevation (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 269).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Probably Mexico and Guatemala (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 269).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Fiji Fiji Islands	Fiji Islands	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1981) (p. 686)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 567)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 179)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 269) Occasionally naturalized
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 269) Occasionally naturalized
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 47) Vouchers cited: Guillaumin & Baumann s.n., MacKee 12126, MacKee 43433 "Envahissant"
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced cultivated	Yuncker, T. G. (1943) (p. 115) Voucher cited: Yuncker 9975 (BISH). Not seen in 1965 per Sykes (1970).

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 269)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 269)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Lavergne, Christophe (2006) "Cultivé/naturalisé"

Comments:  Naturalized in La Réunion per Christophe Lavergne, pers. com.

Additional information:
Factsheet from Purdue University New Crop Compendium

Additional online information about Sechium edule is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Sechium edule as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Sechium edule may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Lavergne, Christophe. 2006. List des especes exotiques envahissantes a La Reunion. Unpublished manuscript (Excel file). .

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Smith, Albert C. 1981. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 2. 810 pp.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2005. A tropical garden flora: plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 908 pp.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Yuncker, T. G. 1943. The flora of Niue Island. Bishop Mus. Bull. 178. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 126 pp.