Lagenaria breviflora (Benth.) Roberty

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Photo: Bart Wursten
Road from Nyahode River to Chimanimani

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Synonyms:	Adenopus breviflorus Benth.
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Description:	Perennial climber with annual stems up to 6 m long, sparsely to densely velvety, sometimes also with longer hairs. Leaves broadly ovate in outline, 7·5–20 cm long, palmately 3–5-lobed, cordate at the base, glossy green and minutely scabrid above, paler and shortly and sparsely to moderately velvety or scabrid beneath, especially on the veins; margins sinuate-dentate; petiole 1·5–8 cm. long, finely and closely velvety, sometimes also with longer hairs; petiole glands below the base of the leaf-blade prominent. Flowers usually with sexes on different plants; male flowers racemose; peduncle 1–22 cm long; pedicels 0·5–8·5 cm long; calyx-tube 2·5–5 cm long, cylindrical, finely velvety; lobes narrowly linear, 4–9 mm long, often glandular. Petals obovate, 3·5–4 cm long, white. Female flowers on peduncles 2–3 cm long; ovary ellipsoid, c. 15 mm long, hairy; petals similar to those of male flowers. Fruit subglobose, 8–9·5 cm long, smooth, glossy, dark green with small whitish spots and larger whitish patches, especially towards the apex.
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Derivation of specific name:	breviflora: with short flowers, an odd reference since the flowers in this species have the longest cylindrical calyx tube.
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Worldwide distribution:	West and Central tropical Africa from Guinée and Sudan south to Angola, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe; also in Brasil.
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Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Literature:	Jeffrey, C. (1978). Cucurbitaceae Flora Zambesiaca 4 Pages 437 - 439. (Includes a picture). 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. Phiri, P.S.M. (2005). A Checklist of Zambian Vascular Plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 32 Page 45.

Other sources of information about Lagenaria breviflora:

Our websites:

Flora of Malawi: Lagenaria breviflora
Flora of Mozambique: Lagenaria breviflora
Flora of Zambia: Lagenaria breviflora
Flora of Zimbabwe: Lagenaria breviflora

External websites:

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