Musk_cucumber

<i>Sicana odorifera</i>

Sicana odorifera

Species of plant

Sicana odorifera is a large, herbaceous perennial vine native to tropical South America, grown as an ornamental plant and for its sweet edible fruit. English names include cassabanana or casbanan, sikana, puttigel and musk cucumber.[1]

Quick Facts Cassabanana, Scientific classification ...

The fast-growing, fleshy vine can reach 15 m (49 ft) or more in height, climbing with four-part adhesive tendrils. The large, hairy, palmately lobed leaves grow to 30 cm (12 in) in width.[1]

The fruit is large, up to 60 cm (24 in) long, with skin of variable color. The fruit has a delicious, melon-like taste when it is ripe, which needs high temperatures to ripen. The sweet, aromatic, yellow-to-orange flesh of the mature fruit is eaten raw or made into preserves. The immature fruit can be cooked as a vegetable.[1]

Cultivation

It is propagated by seeds. It is grown widely in the warm parts of Latin America, as well as by the Cajun people of the Southern United States. It needs good drainage to grow well, and does well on an acidic mix of sand (or perlite) and rich compost.

References

  1. [1]
    "Cassabanana". Purdue University. Retrieved November 22, 2014.


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This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Musk_cucumber, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.