Diplocyclos palmatus (L.) C. Jeffrey

Selected images: Click on each image to see a larger version and details of the record View all images (7)

Photo: Mark Hyde
Makari, 19, Jenkinson Road, Chisipite

Detailed records: Display species records QDS maps by: Google Maps Point records by Google Maps

Species details: Click on each item to see an explanation of that item (Note: opens a new window)

Synonyms:	Bryonia palmata L.
Common names:	Red-striped cucumber (English)
Frequency:
Status:	Native
Description:	Scandent herb, up to 6 m. Leaves: lamina 4-14 × 4-15 cm, deeply palmately 5-lobed, broadly ovate in outline, cordate, minutely rough above or bristly on the veins beneath, otherwise glabrous; petiole prickly. Male flowers 2-8, usually sharing an axil with 1-4 female flowers. Corolla white to greenish-yellow; lobes 6-9 mm long. Female flowers: ovary 4-5 mm long. Fruits subglobose, 1.5-2.5 cm long, solitary or in clusters of 2-5, bright red with silvery white longitudinal stripes.
Notes:	The plant is grown for ornamental purposes but the fruit is NOT edible.
Derivation of specific name:	palmatus: palmate, like a hand
Habitat:	Rain forest
Altitude range:
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution:	Old World tropics from S. Tomé and Fernando Po east to Australasia
Mozambique distribution:	MS
Growth form(s):
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Content last updated:	Tuesday 7 February 2017
Literature:	Jeffrey, C. (1978). Cucurbitaceae Flora Zambesiaca 4 Pages 451 - 453. Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 38. Reekmans, M. (1983). Cucurbitaceae Flore du Rwanda Spermatophytes Volume II Page 479. (Includes a picture).

Other sources of information about Diplocyclos palmatus:

Our websites:

Flora of Burundi: Diplocyclos palmatus
Flora of the DRC: Diplocyclos palmatus
Flora of Rwanda: Diplocyclos palmatus
Flora of Zimbabwe: Diplocyclos palmatus
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Diplocyclos palmatus

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Diplocyclos palmatus
African Plant Database: Diplocyclos palmatus
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Diplocyclos palmatus
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Diplocyclos palmatus
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Diplocyclos palmatus
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Diplocyclos palmatus
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Diplocyclos palmatus
JSTOR Plant Science: Diplocyclos palmatus
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Diplocyclos palmatus
Plants of the World Online: Diplocyclos palmatus
Tropicos: Diplocyclos palmatus
Wikipedia: Diplocyclos palmatus