Characteristics
A pumpkin family plant. It is a tall climbing plant. It is hairy and keeps growing from year to year. It can be 4 m tall. The tendrils are coiled. The leaves are divided into 5 lobed leaflets like fingers on a hand. The leaves are plain green. The flowers are also plain green. The fruit is a green berry. It turns red when ripe. It is 6-10 mm across.
| Life form |
perennial
|
| Growth form |
herb
|
| Growth support |
climber
|
| Foliage retention |
deciduous
|
| Sexuality |
dioecy
|
| Pollination |
entomogamy
|
| Spread |
endozoochory
|
| Mature width (meter) |
-
|
| Mature height (meter) |
3.5
|
| Root system |
-
|
| Rooting depth (meter) |
-
|
| Root diameter (meter) |
-
|
| Flower color |
|
| Blooming months |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | | Apr | May | Jun | | Jul | Aug | Sep | | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|
| Fruit color |
-
|
| Fruiting months |
-
|
| Nitrogen fixer |
-
|
| Photosynthetic pathway |
c3
|
Environment
It is a Mediterranean plant.
| Light |
|
| Soil humidity |
|
| Soil texture |
|
| Soil acidity |
|
| Soil nutriment |
|
| Hardiness (USDA) |
|
Usage
CAUTION: All parts of this plant are poisonous. The red berries are poisonous. The very young leaves are sometimes eaten after being well cooked. They are stewed or used in omelettes.
| Uses |
medicinal
poison
|
| Edible
|
leaves
shoots
|
| Therapeutic use
|
Cough (unspecified), Diuretic (unspecified), Dropsy (unspecified), Hemorrhage (unspecified), Purgative (unspecified), Sclerosis(Spleen) (unspecified), Phthisis (unspecified)
|
| Human toxicity |
strong toxic (root), strong toxic (whole), strong toxic (fruit)
|
| Animal toxicity |
very strong toxic (root), very strong toxic (whole), very strong toxic (fruit)
|
Cultivation
Can be grown by seedlings.
| Mode |
seedlings
|
| Germination duration (days) |
-
|
| Germination temperacture (C°) |
-
|
| Germination luminosity |
-
|
| Germination treatment |
-
|
| Minimum temperature (C°) |
-
|
| Optimum temperature (C°) |
-
|
| Size |
-
|
| Vigor |
-
|
| Productivity |
-
|
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