Cucurbitaceae
Melothria

Melothria sphaerocarpa (Cogn.) H.Schaef. & S.S.Renner

First published in Taxon 60: 134 (2011)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Mexico (Chiapas) to Tropical America. It is a climbing annual and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome. It is used to treat unspecified medicinal disorders, as animal food, a poison and a medicine, has social uses and for fuel and food.

Distribution

Native to:

Brazil North, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Mexico Southeast, Nicaragua, Panamá, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela

Introduced into:

Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zaïre

Synonyms

Homotypic Synonyms

Heterotypic Synonyms

Classification

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Publications

POWO follows these authorities in accepting this name:

  • Govaerts, R., Nic Lughadha, E., Black, N., Turner, R. & Paton, A. (2021). The World Checklist of Vascular Plants, a continuously updated resource for exploring global plant diversity. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-021-00997-6. Scientific Data 8: 215.
  • Sosef, M.S.M. & al. (eds.) (2021). Flore du Gabon 57: 1-173. Muséum National D'Histoire Naturelle, Paris; Margraf Publishers, Weikersheim; Meise Botanic Garden.

Kew Backbone Distributions

  • Boulvert, Y. (1977). Catalogue de la Flore de Centrafrique 1: 1-114. ORSTROM, Bangui.
  • Exell, A.W. (1973). Angiosperms of the islands of the gulf of Guinea (Fernando Po, Príncipe, S.Tomé, and Annobon). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). Botany 4: 325-411.
  • GBIF (2008-2020). Global Biodiversity Information Facility http://www.gbif.org/.
  • Hutchinson, J., Dalziel, J.M. & Keay, R.W.J. (1954-1958). Flora of West Tropical Africa, ed. 2, 1: 1-828.
  • Schaefer, H. & Renner, S.S. (2010). A gift from the New World? The West African crop Cucumeropsis mannii and the American Posadaea sphaerocarpa (Cucurbitaceae) are the same species. Systematic Botany 35: 534-540.
  • Sita, P. & Moutsambote, J.-M. (2005). Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Congo, ed. sept. 2005: 1-158. ORSTOM, Centre de Brazzaville.

Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

  • Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R., & Celis, M. (eds.). (2020). Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia. v1.1. Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Dataset/Checklist. https://doi.org/10.15472/7avdhn
  • Diazgranados et al. (2021). Catalogue of plants of Colombia. Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia project. In prep.
  • Diazgranados, M., Allkin, B., Black N., Cámara-Leret, R., Canteiro C., Carretero J., Eastwood R., Hargreaves S., Hudson A., Milliken W., Nesbitt, M., Ondo, I., Patmore, K., Pironon, S., Turner, R., Ulian, T. (2020). World Checklist of Useful Plant Species. Produced by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity.
  • FPI (2021). Food Plants International. https://fms.cmsvr.com/fmi/webd/Food_Plants_World?homeurl=https://foodplantsinternational.com/plants/
  • GBIF.org (2021). GBIF species matching tool. https://www.gbif.org/tools/species-lookup
  • Medicinal Plant Names Services (MPNS) v.10 (2021); http://mpns.kew.org/

Other Data

Other Kew resources that provide information on this taxon:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status Has image?
Barter, C. [1752] Cucumeropsis edulis K000313327 Unknown Type Material Yes
Barter, C. [1752] Cucumeropsis edulis K000313326 Unknown Type Material Yes
Feb 1, 2003 Etuge, M. [1755] Cameroon Cucumeropsis mannii K000008296 Yes
Jan 1, 1986 Mann, G. [s.n.] West-Central Tropical Africa Cucumeropsis mannii K000313325 Isotype Yes
Jan 1, 1986 Mann, G. [s.n.] West-Central Tropical Africa Cucumeropsis mannii K000313324 Isotype Yes
Jan 1, 1986 Mann, G. [s.n.] West-Central Tropical Africa Cucumeropsis mannii K000313323 Isotype Yes
Jun 1, 1965 Welwitsch [808] Angola Cucumeropsis mannii K000313320 Syntype Yes
Jun 1, 1965 [483] Cucumeropsis mannii K000313321 Syntype Yes
Lebrun, J.A. [1953] Congo, Democratic Republic of the Cucumeropsis mannii K004211038 Yes
Westphal, E.; Westphal-Stevels, J.M.C. [9620] Cameroon Cucumeropsis mannii K004211053 Yes
Jacques-Félix, H. [4212] Cameroon Cucumeropsis mannii K004211032 Yes
Bates, G.L. [261] Cameroon Cucumeropsis mannii K004211034 Yes
Westphal, E.; Westphal-Stevels, J.M.C. [9390] Cameroon Cucumeropsis mannii K004211052 Yes
Germain, R. [1893] Congo, Democratic Republic of the Cucumeropsis mannii K004211043 Yes
Drummond, R.B.; Hemsley, J.H. [4593] Uganda Cucumeropsis mannii K004211049 Yes
Wieringa, J.J.; Mackinder, B.A.; Niangadouma, R.; Koumba Nzigou, C. [5514] Gabon Cucumeropsis mannii K004211027 Yes
van der Ben, D. [988] Congo, Republic of the Cucumeropsis mannii K004211045 Yes
Tessmann, G. [79] Equatorial Guinea Cucumeropsis mannii K004211036 Yes
Westphal, E.; Westphal-Stevels, J.M.C. [8998] Cameroon Cucumeropsis mannii K004211054 Yes
Fay, J.M.; Doka, J. [s.n.] Central African Republic Cucumeropsis mannii K004211028 Yes
Hall, J.B. [2706] Cameroon Cucumeropsis mannii K004211033 Yes
Jacques-Félix, H. [4212] Cameroon Cucumeropsis mannii K004211031 Yes
Jean Louis [2557] Congo, Democratic Republic of the Cucumeropsis mannii K004211041 Yes
Schweinfurth, G. [3462] Congo, Democratic Republic of the Cucumeropsis mannii K004211047 Yes
Léonard [775] Congo, Democratic Republic of the Cucumeropsis mannii K004211046 Yes
Zenker [584] Cameroon Cucumeropsis mannii K004211035 Yes
Monteiro (Mr); Monteiro (Mrs) [s.n.] Angola Cucumeropsis mannii K004211050 No
s.coll. [s.n.] Congo, Republic of the Cucumeropsis mannii K004211048 Yes
Gilbert, G. [2334] Congo, Democratic Republic of the Cucumeropsis mannii K004211039 Yes
Kesler [1032] Congo, Democratic Republic of the Cucumeropsis mannii K004211040 Yes
Fay, J.M.; Ngaindiro, S.; Jules, F.; Raymond, S.; Remy, N. [s.n.] Central African Republic Cucumeropsis mannii K004211029 Yes
van der Ben, D. [1068] Congo, Republic of the Cucumeropsis mannii K004211044 Yes
Carvalho [2118] Equatorial Guinea Cucumeropsis mannii K004211037 Yes
Fanshawe, D.B. [F10144] Zambia Cucumeropsis mannii K004211051 Yes
Westphal, E.; Westphal-Stevels, J.M.C. [9389] Cameroon Cucumeropsis mannii K004211055 Yes
Hallé, N. [3397] Gabon Cucumeropsis mannii K004211042 Yes
Drummond, R.B.; Hemsley, J.H. [4593] Uganda Cucumeropsis mannii K:SPC-00798.000 No
Jacques-Félix, H. [4746] Cameroon Cucumeropsis mannii K004211030 Yes
Jeffrey, C.; Trujillo, B.; Condon, M.A. [2210] Venezuela Posadaea sphaerocarpa K004214503 Yes
Lister, J.R.A.; Colchester, M.E.M. [151] Venezuela Posadaea sphaerocarpa K004214506 Yes
Jeffrey, C.; Trujillo, B. [s.n.] Venezuela Posadaea sphaerocarpa K004214509 Yes
Amaral, I.L. [415] Brazil Posadaea sphaerocarpa K001192275 Yes
Milliken, W. [1868] Brazil Posadaea sphaerocarpa K:SPC-29047.886 No
Pires, J.M. [52552] Brazil Posadaea sphaerocarpa K001192272 Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] Costa Rica Posadaea sphaerocarpa K004214511 Yes
Jeffrey, C.; Trujillo, B.; Condon, M.A. [2040] Venezuela Posadaea sphaerocarpa K004214505 Yes
Cid, C.A. [3467] Brazil Posadaea sphaerocarpa K001192274 Yes
Balée, W.L. [913] Brazil Posadaea sphaerocarpa K001192276 Yes
s.coll. [s.n.] Costa Rica Posadaea sphaerocarpa K004214512 Yes
Callejas, R.; Churchill, S.; Acevedo-Rodriguez, P.; Castaño, C.J.; Escobar, M. [s.n.] Colombia Posadaea sphaerocarpa K004214508 Yes
Lehmann, F.C. [5274] Colombia Posadaea sphaerocarpa K000424046 Unknown Type Material Yes
Jeffrey, C.; Trujillo, B.; Condon, M.A. [2043] Venezuela Posadaea sphaerocarpa K004214510 Yes
Lister, J.R.A.; Colchester, M.E.M. [485] Venezuela Posadaea sphaerocarpa K004214504 Yes
Jeffrey, C.; Trujillo, B. [s.n.] Venezuela Posadaea sphaerocarpa K004214507 Yes
Spruce, R. [s.n.] Ecuador Posadaea sphaerocarpa K000006239 Yes
Milliken, W. [1868] Brazil Posadaea sphaerocarpa K001192273 Yes

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Flora of West Tropical Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Universidad Nacional de Colombia

    • ColPlantA database
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Useful Plants of Boyacá Project

    • ColPlantA database
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/