NATIVE :: Cucurbitaceae (pumpkin, or gourd family) » Zehneria scabra

[Dinesh Valke]

Zehneria scabra (syn. Bryonia scabra, Melothria perpusilla, Melothria punctata)


zy-NER-ee-uh -- named in memory of Joseph Zehner, botanical artist of Vienna
SKAB-ruh -- meaning, rough


commonly known as: Cape zehneria, South African zehneria, wild cucumber • Hindi: मुसमुसा musmusa • Marathi: चिरटी chirati • Manipuri: লম থবী lam thabi • Tamil: naai pagal • Telugu: కూతురుబుడమ kuturu-budama • Urdu: مسمسا musmusa


Attached views from Kas plateau, and Kate's Point (Panchagani)
... more views at http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=91314344%40N00&q=Zehneriascabra&m=tags



Regards.

[Gurcharan Singh]

Thanks for another new for me.

-- 
Dr. Gurcharan Singh
Retired  Associate Professor
SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007
Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018.
Phone: 011-25518297  Mob: 9810359089
http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/ 

[Vijayasankar]

If my understanding is correct, then the first picture is of Zehneria maysorensis (Wight & Arn.) Arn. and the second one could be of Zehneria bodinieri (H.Lév.) W.J.de Wilde & Duyfjes. Pl refer to the following paper.

Reference:
De Wilde WJJO, Duyfjes BEE (2004). Zehneria (Cucurbitaceae) in Thailand, with a note on the Indian Zehneria maysorensis. Thai Forest Bulletin, Botany 32: 15–31.

 

Regards 

Vijayasankar

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Vijayasankar Raman, Ph.D.
National Center for Natural Products Research
University of Mississippi

[Gurcharan Singh]

Thanks Vijayasankar ji

You seem to have made my contention in the below thread more stronger

"So our collections having gone under Zehneria scabra in our websites may be sought to be segregated into three species:Zehneria maysorensis with beroadly ovate scabrous leaves, ovate corolla lobes and oblong 8-15 mm long fruits, Z. bodinieri with ovate leaves longer than broad, glabrous leaves, ovate-oblong corolla lobes and globose 8-10 mm fruits, and very similar Z. hookeriana"

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/indiantreepix/Zehneria$20scabra$20a$20relook/indiantreepix/H2QLQrK4hCs/Bhs4OSVhGwsJ

Dr. Gurcharan Singh

Retired  Associate Professor
SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007
Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018.
Phone: 011-25518297  Mob: 9810359089

http://www.gurcharanfamily.com/ 
http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/

[Vijayasankar]

Yes, Gurcharan ji, thanks again for sensing this important issue and calling for a revisit of Zehneria. This will enable us to update the nomenclature in our database.

As per the literature, and as also pointed out by you in an earlier thread, Z. scabra and the genus Melothria (now regarded "confined to America") do not occur in India. This is a major shift in our understanding as we have been using these names to our Indian plants. While the distinction between Z. bodinieri and Z. maysorensis are clear, the differences between the former species and Z. hookeriana are still vague (at least to me). A well-defined key to the Zehneria species in India would help sort out the confusion more effectively.
 

 

Regards 

Vijayasankar

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Vijayasankar Raman, Ph.D.
National Center for Natural Products Research
University of Mississippi

[JM Garg]

I had a relook at all the posts in efi site on Zehneria‎ and added keys herein.

Both images should be of Zehneria bodinieri (H. Léveillé) W. J. de Wilde & Duyfjes based on keys at Zehneria‎ 

Initially ovary looks a bit ellipsoidal, but finally fruits are globose. Pl. see the last image by enlarging at Cucurbitaceae Week :: Zehneria scabra at Kas and Mahabaleshwar