Kiwano – Cucumis metuliferus

The Kiwano’s 10–15 cm long fruits look like oranges. It belongs to the cucumber family. The fruit has little horns on the peel and makes one think of a medieval weapon. The flesh of the fruit is green and usually contains many 5–10 mm long white seeds. When not ripe yet, the colour of the fruit is green.

These fruits are imported from Israel and Middle America. We eat the green flesh together with the seeds. The kiwano tastes like cucumber, marrow and banana. After eating the kiwano, we can use the cover of the fruits as beautiful plates; while we can sow the seeds. It is a fast growing plant that looks like a marrow with long stems and tendrils. The leaves make one think of a cucumber plant as it also has small prickly hair.

The pollination of the 3 mm lon g fl ower s ha ppen s in the sam e wa y as wit h th e c u c u m b e r p l a nt. We s houl d ta ke into account that the fruit could rot when coming in contact with the soil. The kiwano grows well at a temperature of around 25 ºC, therefore the temperature in ordinary boxes are kept the same as in the case of the growing of cucumbers and melons. The kiwano endures no frost. If you are living in the areas where cold or frost occurs, it is necessary to plant kiwano outside after the frost period.

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Tuesday 8th June 2010 19:26 | print | Exotic plants