Cucumeropsis mannii

Cucumeropsis mannii is a species of melon native to tropical Africa west of the East African Rift, where it is grown for food and as a source of oil.

Cucumeropsis mannii
Fruit of C. mannii in Cameroon
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Rosids
Order:
Cucurbitales
Family:
Cucurbitaceae
Genus:
Cucumeropsis
Species:
C. mannii
Binomial name
Cucumeropsis mannii
Synonyms
  • Cladosicyos edulis Hook.f.
  • Corynosicyos edulis (Hook.f.) F.Muell.
  • Cucumeropsis edulis (Hook.f.) Cogn.
  • Cucumeropsis mackennii K.Koch nom. inval.
  • Cucurbitella ecuadorensis Cogn.
  • Melothria sphaerocarpa (Cogn.) H. Schaef. & S.S. Renner
  • Momordica procera A.Chev. nom. inval.
  • Posadaea sphaerocarpa Cogn.

Its common names include egusi in Yoruba, Egwusi in Igbo and agushi in Hausa. In English it is known as Mann's cucumeropsis and white-seed melon.

It produces climbing vines up to 4 meters long which are covered in stiff hairs. The heart-shaped or roughly palmate leaves are up to 12 centimeters long and 14 wide. It bears small yellow male and female flowers with petals under a centimeter in length. The fruit is egg-shaped or an elongated ovate shape, up to about 19 centimeters long and 8 wide, and cream in color with green streaks. The fruit and white seeds are edible. The plant is grown more often for the seed oil than for the fruit.

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