Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standley (1930: 435)

Umoh, Omodot Timothy & Bassey, Margaret Emmanuel, 2021, Morphology and distribution of species of the family Cucurbitaceae in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, Phytotaxa 508 (2), pp. 107-128 : 113-118

5. Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standley (1930: 435) ( Fig. 7 )

Basionym:— Cucurbita siceraria Molina (1782: 133) .

Synonyms:— Cucurbita lagenaria Linnaeus (1753: 1010) .

Lagenaria vulgaris Seringe (1825: 16) .

Local Name: —Iko ukod (Annang), Ukpok (Ibibio).

Common Name: —Bottle gourd.

Habitat: —Cultivated farmland.

Key: +++ (Abundant: 21–100 individuals per sampling point); ++ (Frequent: 6–20 individuals per sampling point); + (Rare: 1–5 individuals per sampling point); - (Absent) (according to classification by Shukla & Chandel 1972)

Description:— Herb, climbing and trailing by means of tendrils; monoecious. Stem herbaceous, climbing, angular, pubescent, 0.2–0.3 cm diam.; tendrils 2-fid, spirally coiled just above branching point. Leaves simple, alternately arranged, petiolate, exstipulate, scabrid, palmately lobed, deep green, apex acute, dentate, 4–15 × 5–15 cm; petiole cylindrical, 3–5 cm long, herbaceous, pubescent. Inflorescence axillary. Male flowers calyx tubular; corolla white, with 5 free petals, slightly hairy. Fruit round, cylindrical, sometimes irregular in shape, 5–15 cm diam., pedunculate, smooth, green.

Location in Akwa Ibom:— Essien Udim, Oruk Anam, Obot Akara, Ikot Ekpene, Ibiono, Ibesikpo Asutan, Mkpat Enin, and Eastern Obolo .

Abundance:— It existed in 47% of the sampling areas and was rare in these areas.

Figures

FIGURE 7. Two forms of Lagenaria siceraria. A. & C. Fruiting plants in habitat. B. & D. Morphological features showing (A) Seed. (B) Tendrils. (C) Leaf. (D) Fruit.