Acanthosicyos horridus

Acanthosicyos horridus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Plantae
Clade:Angiosperms
Clade:Eudicots
Clade:Rosids
Order:Cucurbitales
Family:Cucurbitaceae
Genus:Acanthosicyos
Species: A. horridus
Binomial name
Acanthosicyos horridus
Welw. ex Hook.f.
Acanthosicyos horridus (A) Citrullus lanatus (B)
by Ethel Dixie c.1925

Acanthosicyos horridus is an unusual melon that occurs only in Namibia; it is locally called naras or nara.[1] It is a dioecious plant found in sand desert but not stony plains, in areas with access to ground water such as ephemeral rivers and paleochannels, where sand accumulating in the shelter of its stems can form hummocks up to 1000–1500 m2 in area and 4 meters in height. Its stems may rise more than a meter above the hummocks, while its system of thick taproots can extend up to 50 m downward.[2] The nara plant is leafless, so modified stems and spines 2–3 centimeters long serve as the photosynthetic "organs" of the plant.[1][3] The plant can survive many years without water.[2]

Nara typically occurs in the absence of other vegetation due to the harshness of the climate,[2] though Eragrostis spinosa and Stipagrostis sabulicola grasses may grow between its hummocks. It is regarded as a keystone species because its nutritious melons, seeds, shoots, and flowers are food sources for beetles, gemsbok, and ostrich, while small mammals such as Rhabdomys pumilio, Desmodillus auricularis, and Thallomys nigricauda take shelter amid the spiny tangle of its stems.[3]

Consumption

Acanthosicyos horridus fruit in Sossusvlei in Namibia

The melon fruits average 1 kg and are pale green and spiny. Within, a sweet, aromatic, watery, yellow-orange pulp is described as "tasting like an avocado or a cross between cucumber and pineapple". The large edible seeds, white to cream in color, are known locally as butterpips.[4][2]

The fruit serves as an essential food source for Topnaar people from February to April and August to September.[1] The katydid Acanthoproctus diadematus feeds on the plant, moving between different bushes at night.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Nara Plant, Acanthosicyos horrida, Namibia". Siyabona Africa, Kruger Park Safaris. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-23.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Indigenous plants of Namibia: !nara". Travel News Namibia. 2015-03-24. Archived from the original on 2017-11-04. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
  3. 1 2 Cornelia Bettina Krug (2002). "Adaptations of the four-striped field mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio, Sparman 1784) to the Namib Desert" (PDF). University of Bonn.
  4. ↑ Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (2004) Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA Foundation, Wageningen; Backhuys, Leiden; CTA, Wageningen.
  5. ↑ Conti, E.; Viglianisi, F.M. (2005). "Ecology of the calling song of two Namibian armoured ground crickets, Acanthoplus longipes and Acanthoproctus diadematus (Orthoptera Tettigoniidae Hetrodinae)". Ethology Ecology & Evolution. 17 (3): 261–269. doi:10.1080/08927014.2005.9522596. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
  • PROTAbase on Acanthosicyos horridus
  • Dressler, S.; Schmidt, M. & Zizka, G. (2014). "Acanthosicyos horridus". African plants – a Photo Guide. Frankfurt/Main: Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg.
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