Telfairia is a small genus of flowering plants in the squash family which are native to Africa. They include Telfairia occidentalis, the fluted pumpkin, which is an important vegetable in Nigeria and other African nations. It is also known as the oyster nut, a common name it shares with its relative Telfairia pedata. These are woody and herbaceous dioecious vines which bear squashlike fruits that contain large, nutritious oily seeds. The third species is Telfairia batesii which is very rare and not cultivated.
These vines grow quickly to lengths of 30 meters or more, using tendrils to scale trees. T. pedata is grown as an ornamental plant for its attractive foliage. The seeds of T. occidentalis and T. pedata are over 25% protein and 55% oil, making them a good source of nutrition. They are used as a traditional food source for nursing mothers; the seed flour is fermented to make baby food; and the leaves and shoots, especially of T. occidentalis, are eaten as vegetables.[1]
One recent concern has been the impact of telfairia mosaic virus, which, along with other problems, is a threat to the already low genetic diversity of plants of this genus.
Species:
Telfairia batesii
Telfairia occidentalis - fluted pumpkin, oyster nut
Telfairia is a small genus of flowering plants in the squash family which are native to Africa. They include Telfairia occidentalis, the fluted pumpkin...
Telfairia pedata, commonly known as oysternut (alternately spelled as 'oyster nut', etc.), queen's nut, Zanzibar oilvine (alternately spelled as 'oil...
Telfairia occidentalis is a tropical vine grown in West Africa as a leaf vegetable and for its edible seeds. Common names for the plant include fluted...
its variants) may refer to either: Telfairia, a plant genus; Telfairia pedata, a species within the genus Telfairia This page is an index of articles on...
Ugu may refer to: Telfairia occidentalis, a plant native to Africa Catherine Ugwu (born 1964), British executive producer, creative director, and consultant...
plants successfully in greenhouses. He is commemorated by the plant genus Telfairia, the lizard species Leiolopisma telfairii (Telfair's skink), and the mammal...
largest fruits in the world, though not as large as the jackfruit or Telfairia pedata. Inside the tough, leathery brown skin patterned with raised diamond-shapes...
12 January 2013. "GRIN #1190". npgsweb.ars-grin.gov. "Entity Display : Telfairia occidentalis". ecoport.org. 12 January 2013. Archived from the original...
(2017-01-01). "Bioaccumulation of Heavy Metals in Cucurbita maxima Duch. and Telfairia occidentalis Hook. F. Grown on Crude Oil Polluted Soil Citation". American...
the importance of indigenous vegetables such as Solanum macrocarpon and Telfairia occidentalis in providing employment opportunities in informal economies...
goat, local spices and leaves such as afang (Gnetum africanum), pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis), water leaf (Talinum fruticosum), editan, Ntrong, etighi...
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