Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly Cucurbita and Lagenaria. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. One of the earliest domesticated types of plants, subspecies of the bottle gourd, Lagenaria siceraria, have been discovered in archaeological sites dating from as early as 13,000 BCE. Gourds have had numerous uses throughout history, including as tools, musical instruments, objects of art, film, and food.
A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a "pepo". The word melon derives from Latin melopepo, which is the latinization of the Greek μηλοπέπων (mēlopepōn), meaning "melon", itself a compound of μῆλον (mēlon), "apple", treefruit " and πέπων (pepōn), amongst others "a kind of gourd or melon". Many different cultivars have been produced, particularly of cantaloupes.
Calabash, also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed as a vegetable, or harvested mature to be dried and used as a utensil, container, or a musical instrument. When it is fresh, the fruit has a light green smooth skin and white flesh.
Lagenaria is a genus of gourd-bearing vines in the squash family (Cucurbitaceae). Lagenaria contains six species, all of which are indigenous to tropical Africa. The best-known species, the calabash or bottle gourd, L. siceraria, has been domesticated by humans, and has spread beyond Africa. The other species are not cultivated. The gourds of the various species may be harvested young and used as a vegetable. More commonly, the gourds are harvested mature, then dried, and used in making utensils. Gourds of L. siceraria have been used to store water and other liquids since ancient times. The generic name lagenaria comes from classical Latin lagena meaning bottle or flask, plus Latin suffix -aria.
Trichosanthes cucumerina is a tropical or subtropical vine. Its variety T. cucumerina var. anguina raised for its strikingly long fruit. In Asia, it is eaten immature as a vegetable much like the summer squash and in Africa, the reddish pulp of mature snake gourd is used as an economical substitute for tomato. Common names for the cultivated variety include snake gourd, serpent gourd, chichindapadwal and Snake Tomato.
Rwenzori Mountains National Park is a Ugandan national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Rwenzori Mountains. Almost 1,000 km2 (386 sq mi) in size, the park has Africa's third highest mountain peak and many waterfalls, lakes, and glaciers. The park is known for its beautiful plant life.
Hagenia is a monotypic genus of flowering plant with the sole species Hagenia abyssinica, native to the high-elevation Afromontane regions of central and eastern Africa. It also has a disjunct distribution in the high mountains of East Africa from Sudan and Ethiopia in the north, through Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania, to Malawi and Zambia in the south. A member of the rose family, its closest relative is the Afromontane genus Leucosidea.
The Abyssinian genet, also known as the Ethiopian genet, is a genet species native to Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, and Djibouti. It is listed as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List. It is one of the least-known genet species.
Bersama abyssinica is a species of medium-sized evergreen tree in the Francoaceae family. The leaves are pinnately divided with a strongly winged rachis. The inflorescence is a spike.
Oxytenanthera is a genus of African bamboo. Bamboos are members of the grass family Poaceae.
Erythrina abyssinica is a tree species of the genus Erythrina belonging to the plant family of the Fabaceae described by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1825. This leguminous tree species is native to East Africa, Eastern DRC and southern Africa. In Zimbabwe its range overlaps with the similar Erythrina latissima.
Diospyros abyssinica is a tree species in the family Ebenaceae which is native to Sub-Saharan Africa.
Euphorbia abyssinica, commonly known as the desert candle or candelabra spurge, is a species of plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. E. abyssinica is endemic to Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and Eritrea. It was first described in 1791, by the German botanist Johann Friedrich Gmelin. In its native habitat, it can grow up to 10 m (33 ft) tall. The woody stem is used for firewood and as timber in roofing, furniture and other items, and the sap is used in traditional medicine. It is also cultivated as an ornamental house plant.
Rosa abyssinica is the only rose native to Africa. Europeans first learned of the rose in the writings of 19th-century Scottish botanist Robert Brown. Rosa abyssinica is included in the genus Rosa, and the family Rosaceae. No subspecies are listed in the Catalogue of Life.
L. abyssinica can refer to a few different species. The specific epithet abyssinica refers to Ethiopia, where many of these species may be found.
Bulbine abyssinica is a species of plant in the genus Bulbine, from eastern and southern Africa.
Hedbergia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants, initially classified in Scrophulariaceae, and now within the broomrape family Orobanchaceae. It contains a unique species, Hedbergia abyssinica. It is an afromontane genus, widespread in grasslands and scrubs of the mountains of tropical Africa, and known from Ethiopia, Zaire, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Nigeria, and Cameroons.
Lagenaria breviflora is a species of flowering plant. It is a climbing vine that is found across Central Africa, East Africa, and West Africa. It has large, 7 to 20 cm ovate-triangular leaves with hairy undersides and partly-dense hairs on the leaf petioles. It grows vine branches up to 6 meters long. It forms ~9x7 cm oblong, green fruits with whitish spots across the surface. The fruits are similar to those of other members of the Lagenaria genus.
Lagenaria guineensis is a species of flowering plant. It is a climbing vine that is found in tropical West Africa and the Congo Basin. It forms oblong, green fruits with whitish spots across the surface. The fruits are similar to those of other members of the Lagenaria genus.
