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This genus is accepted, and its native range is Tropical Africa, Comoros, Madagascar.
A specimen from Kew's Herbarium

[FTEA]

Cucurbitaceae, C. Jeffrey. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1967

Morphology General Habit
Large lianes
Morphology Leaves
Leaves pedately 3–7-foliolate; median leaflet largest
Morphology General Tendrils
Tendrils proximally bifid
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts
Probracts present
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers large, purplish, dioecious Female flowers solitary, larger than male; ovary ribbed; ovules many, horizontal; stigma 3-lobed Male flowers many, racemose; receptacle-tube short, broad; lobes toothed; petals 5, free, fringed; stamens 5 (all 2-thecous, 4 in two pairs with 1 single), free, or the paired stamens ± united, when completely so then stamens 3 (two 4-thecous, one 2-thecous); filaments inserted halfway up the tube; thecae straight or slightly arcuate
sex Male
Male flowers many, racemose; receptacle-tube short, broad; lobes toothed; petals 5, free, fringed; stamens 5 (all 2-thecous, 4 in two pairs with 1 single), free, or the paired stamens ± united, when completely so then stamens 3 (two 4-thecous, one 2-thecous); filaments inserted halfway up the tube; thecae straight or slightly arcuate
sex Female
Female flowers solitary, larger than male; ovary ribbed; ovules many, horizontal; stigma 3-lobed
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit very large, fleshy, ribbed, many-seeded, dehiscing by 10 longitudinal valves
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds large, broadly ovate or suborbicular in outline, compressed, often enclosed in a fibrous sheath derived from the endocarp
Figures
Fig. 1.

[FZ]

Cucurbitaceae, C. Jeffrey. Flora Zambesiaca 4. 1978

Morphology General Habit
Lianes.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves pedately 3–7-foliolate.
Morphology General Tendrils
Tendrils proximally bifid.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts
Probracts present.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers large, purplish, dioecious. Female flowers solitary; perianth similar to that of male flower; ovary ribbed; ovules many, horizontal; stigma 3-lobed. Male flowers many, racemose. Receptacle-tube short, broad; lobes dentate. Petals 5, free, fringed with filaments. Stamens 5 or 3, if 5, then all 2-thecous, if 3, then two 4-thecous, one 2-thecous, free; filaments inserted on the receptacle-tube; thecae straight or slightly arcuate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit very large, fleshy, ribbed, many-seeded, tardily dehiscent by 10 longitudinal valves.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds large, broadly ovate or suborbicular in outline, compressed, enclosed in a fibrous endocarpic sheath.

Native to:

Benin, Cabinda, Cameroon, Central African Repu, Comoros, Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Liberia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zaïre

Introduced into:

Mauritius, Zambia

Telfairia Hook. appears in other Kew resources:

First published in Bot. Mag. 54: t. 2751 (1827)

Accepted by

  • Govaerts, R., Nic Lughadha, E., Black, N., Turner, R. & Paton, A. (2021). The World Checklist of Vascular Plants, a continuously updated resource for exploring global plant diversity. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-021-00997-6 Scientific Data 8: 215.

Literature

Flora of West Tropical Africa

  • —F.T.A. 2: 523.

Flora Zambesiaca

  • in Curtis, Bot. Mag. 54: t. 2751 & 2752 (1827).

Flora of Tropical East Africa

  • in Bot. Mag. 54, t. 2751 & 2752 (1 July 1827)

Flora Zambesiaca
Flora Zambesiaca
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

Flora of Tropical East Africa
Flora of Tropical East Africa
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

Kew Backbone Distributions
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2021. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2021. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0