Cucumis humifructus

Technopedia Center

Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science
S1 Informatics S1 Information Systems S1 Information Technology S1 Computer Engineering S1 Electrical Engineering S1 Civil Engineering

faculty of Economics and Business
S1 Management S1 Accountancy

Faculty of Letters and Educational Sciences
S1 English literature S1 English language education S1 Mathematics education S1 Sports Education

Cucumis humifructus - Wikipedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aardvark cucumber

Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Cucurbitales
Family:	Cucurbitaceae
Genus:	Cucumis
Species:	C. humifructus
Binomial name
*Cucumis humifructus* Stent

Cucumis humifructus, the aardvark cucumber or aardvark pumpkin, is a kind of cucumber (family Cucurbitaceae) from southern and tropical Africa which fruits underground. It is a prostrate vine up to seven meters (22 feet) in length. It is reliant on the aardvark (Orycteropus afer) to eat the fruit in order to spread and re-bury the seeds of the plant. The species was described in 1927, with the name spelled C. humofructus,^[1] but this is corrected to C. humifructus following the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants.^[2]

Description

Cucumis humifructus is thought to be the only Cucumis species having geocarpic (subterranean) fruit.^[3] The vines of the plant initially develop their fruits above ground on stalks which then bend and push back under the ground.^[4] The fruit then grows at a depth of between 30–90 cm (12–35 in).^[5] Most cucurbits have a single tendril at each node, but C. humifructus has 2 to 8,^[6] to give it the leverage needed to bury the young fruit. It develops a tough skin which is water-resistant, and can remain intact for months without decay.^[3] The plant grows as a trailing herb from 2–7 metres (7–23 ft) in tropical Africa and 0.5–2.5 metres (2–8 ft) in southern Africa.^[7]

It is the only fruit (and only form of plant matter) eaten by aardvarks, which otherwise feed exclusively on ants and termites.^[8] Aardvarks eat the fruit for its water content,^[9] and propagate the seeds through their feces, which are then buried by the animals.^[10] Due to the depth at which the fruits ripen, the seeds are unable to germinate without assistance, and C. humifructus is completely reliant on aardvarks to uncover their fruit.^[3] This plant may be the reason why the aardvark is the only mammal feeding on ants and termites that has retained functional cheek teeth.^[4]

Distribution and habitat

It has a growing season of between three and four months, with its habitat being restricted to the savanna regions of tropical and southern Africa. It typically grows within the geographical range of aardvark burrows,^[10] as the animals tend to defecate near their lairs.^[9]

Gallery

Fruit
Seeds

References

^ Sydney M. Stent (1927), "An Undescribed Geocarpic Plant from South Africa", Bothalia - African Biodiversity and Conservation, 2: 356–358, doi:10.4102/abc.v2i1.1768
^ McNeill, J.; Barrie, F.R.; Buck, W.R.; Demoulin, V.; Greuter, W.; Hawksworth, D.L.; Herendeen, P.S.; Knapp, S.; Marhold, K.; Prado, J.; Prud'homme Van Reine, W.F.; Smith, G.F.; Wiersema, J.H.; Turland, N.J. (2012), International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Melbourne Code) adopted by the Eighteenth International Botanical Congress Melbourne, Australia, July 2011, vol. Regnum Vegetabile 154, A.R.G. Gantner Verlag KG, ISBN 978-3-87429-425-6 Article 60.8 and Rec. 60G.1
^ ^a ^b ^c van Rheede van Oudtshoorn, Karen; van Rooyen, Margaretha W. (1998). Dispersal Biology of Desert Plants. Berlin; New York: Springer. p. 118. ISBN 978-3-540-64886-4. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
^ ^a ^b Barlow, Connie (2002). The Ghosts of Evolution: Nonsensical Fruit, Missing Partners, and other Ecological Anachronisms. New York: BasicBooks. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-465-00552-9. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
^ "The Seedy Side of Life" episode on "Nature" PBS television series
^ Kirkbride Jr, Joseph H. (1993). Biosystematic Monograph of the Genus Cucumis. Boone, No. Carolina: Parkway Publishers. p. 77.
^ "African Plant Database: Cucumis humifructus Stent". Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques & South African National Biodiversity Institute. 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
^ Dean, W. Richard J.; Milton, Suzanne J., eds. (1999). The Karoo: Ecological Patterns and Processes. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-521-55450-3. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
^ ^a ^b Steentoft, Margaret (1988). Flowering Plants in West Africa. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. p. 86. ISBN 978-0-521-26192-0. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
^ ^a ^b van Rheede van Oudtshoorn, Karen; van Rooyen, Margaretha W. (1998). Dispersal Biology of Desert Plants. Berlin; New York: Springer. p. 26. ISBN 978-3-540-64886-4. Retrieved 5 September 2015.

Taxon identifiers
Cucumis humifructus	Wikidata: Q5192437 Wikispecies: Cucumis humifructus APDB: 26065 CoL: 329SK GBIF: 4939975 GRIN: 404405 iNaturalist: 583102 IPNI: 292212-1 NCBI: 396993 Open Tree of Life: 59347 Plant List: kew-2746967 SANBI: 1931-14 Tropicos: 9200955

Categories:

Hidden categories: