Tumamoca macdougalii

Tumamoca macdougalii Rose is a member of the Cucurbitaceae or gourd family. Also called the Tumamoc globeberry,[1] it is native to a very narrow area of the Sonoran Desert, and is found in both Sonora and Arizona. It is one of two species in genus Tumamoca.[2][3]

Tumamoca macdougalii

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Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Cucurbitales
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Genus: Tumamoca
Species:
T. macdougalii
Binomial name
Tumamoca macdougalii

Tumamoca macdougalii is a monoecious vine climbing over various shrubs. Stems die in the fall, but tuberous roots generally persist through the winter. Leaves are deeply 3-lobed, nearly cleft, each lobe similarly divided into several sections. Flowers are pale yellow with narrow corolla lobes. Pistillate (female) flowers are solitary in the leaf axils; staminate (male) flowers in racemes of 2-6 flowers. Fruits are spherical, red, rarely yellow, about 10 mm (0.4 inches) in diameter.[4]

Uses

The Seri and Tohono O'odham eat the fruits of T. macdougalii.[5][6]

References
  1. "Tulipa macdougalii". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  2. Schaefer, Hanno; Renner, Susanne S. (February 2011), "Phylogenetic relationships in the order Cucurbitales and a new classification of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae)" (PDF), Taxon, 60 (1): 122–138, doi:10.1002/tax.601011, retrieved 2 May 2011
  3. Kearns, Denis M. 1994. A revision of Tumamoca (Cucurbitaceae). Madroño 41(1):23-29.
  4. Rose, Joseph Nelson. 1912. Tumamoca, a new genus of Cucurbitaceae. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 16(1): 21 + pl. 17.
  5. Felger, R. S. and M. B. Moser. 1985. People of the Desert and Sea. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.
  6. Hodgson, W. C. 2001. Food Plants of the Sonoran Desert. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.
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