Coccinia quinqueloba (Thunb.) Cogn. in A.DC. & C.DC., Monogr. Phan. 3: 533. 1881.

Holstein, Norbert, 2015, Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae), PhytoKeys 54, pp. 1-166 : 101-102

17. Coccinia quinqueloba (Thunb.) Cogn. in A.DC. & C.DC., Monogr. Phan. 3: 533. 1881.

Bryonia quinqueloba Thunb., Prodr. Pl. Cap. 1: 13. 1794. Cephalandra quinqueloba (Thunb.) Schrad. ex Eckl. & Zeyh., Enum. pl. afric. austral. 2: 280. 1836. Momordica quinqueloba (Thunb.) E.Mey. ex Drège, Zwei pflanzengeogr. Dokum.: 126, 132, 133, 137, 202. 1843.

Coccinia quinqueloba Type: [South Africa]. [Eastern Cape]: sylva Krakakamma, male, fl, Dec, C.P. Thunberg 22836 (Lectotype, designated by Meeuse (1962: 99) and here: UPS-THUNB! [K neg. 2978]).

Coccinia quinqueloba Type: ibid., male, fl, Dec, C.P. Thunberg 22837 (Syntype: UPS-THUNB! [K neg. 2977]).

Coccinia quinqueloba Type: Cap. b. spei [Cape of Good Hope colony], C.P. Thunberg s.n. (Syntype: S! [S08-12379]).

Description.

Perennial creeper or climber. Stems up to 9 m, glabrous (rarely with remote trichomes). Leaves usually subsessile, petiole 3-8(-17) mm, glabrous (rarely with remote trichomes). Leaves, 3-9.5 × 4-10 cm, 3- or 5-lobate, auriculate. Lobes oblong, elliptical to obovate. Leaf margin remotely dentate, apices towards lobe often serrate. Lobe apices obtuse with a point. Upper leaf surface pale pustulate, lower leaf surface glabrous, rarely a few blackish glands near base, nerves rarely white-speckled. Probracts <1 mm or missing. Tendrils simple. Male flowers solitary or in racemes. Common peduncle 0.5-2 cm, petiole in racemous flowers up to 1.8 cm, bracts> 1 mm or missing, solitary flowers with petiole 1.8-4 cm, all glabrous. Perianth tube glabrous, calyx lobes 1.5-3 mm, narrow triangulate, erect to spreading. Corolla 1.2-2.2 cm long, pale yellow, corolla lobes 0.8-1.2 cm. Color of filament stalk, anther head, and pollen sacs not seen. Female flowers one solitary. Petiole 1-2.5 cm, glabrous. Hypanthium glabrous, calyx lobes and corolla like in male flowers. Style and stigmas not seen. Fruits 3.5-9 × 3-4 cm, elliptical to oblong, sometimes short elongated tip, unripe green with longitudinal, white mottling, ripe (orange-)red. Seeds 6-7.5 × 3-3.5 × 1-1.2 mm (L/W/H), slightly asymmetrically obovate, face (flatly) lenticular.

Phenology.

Flowering time: January, February, April, July, September, November, December.

Distribution.

Fig. 30. Southern and western Eastern Cape, South Africa. Elevation sea level to 1000 m. Sandy soils, also on dolomite soil. Coastal bushland, forest, dry bush, on bushes along rivers, along roadsides.

Remarks.

See also under Coccinia mackenii .

Taxonomic remarks.

Cephalandra quinqueloba is the type species of the genus Cephalandra . Meeuse (1962) designated the lectotype of Bryonia quinqueloba to UPS but did not choose a specimen, which is done here.

Specimens examined.

(Selection, in total: 77) South Africa. Eastern Cape: East London, Dec 1916, H.G. Breyer s.n. TRV23225 (PRE); Amatle Mts, Hogsback Pass, 32°36'50"S, 26°55'25"E, P.B. Phillipson 1079 (MO, PRE); Glen Avon, Feb 1923, Mrs. J.E. Brown s.n. (PRE [ “PRE43005”], Z); Grahamstown, Old Quarry, R.D.A. Bayliss 8470 (G (2), M, MO, Z); 28 mls [45 km] from Grahamstown on Port Elizabeth road, R. Story 2346 (B [B 10 0019800], L, M (2), MO, PRE, S [S08-12378]); near Port Alfred, J.L. Sidey 1095 (PRE, S [S08-12464]).