View source for Chayote

{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Chayote
| image = Sechium edule dsc07767.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = ''Chouchous'' on sale in [[Réunion Island]]
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Violales]]
| familia = [[Cucurbitaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Sechium]]''
| species = '''''S. edule'''''
| binomial = ''Sechium edule''
| binomial_authority = ([[Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin|Jacq.]]) [[Olof Swartz|Swartz]], 1800
}}

The '''chayote''' (''Sechium edule''), also known as '''choko''', is an edible [[plant]], which belongs to the [[gourd]] family [[Cucurbitaceae]] along with [[melon]]s, [[cucumber]]s and [[squash (vegetable)|squash]]. 

The plant has large [[Leaf|leaves]] that form a canopy over the [[fruit]]. The vine is grown on the ground or more commonly on trellises.

== Taxonomy ==
The plant was first recorded by modern botantists in [[Patrick Browne|P.Browne]]'s 1756 work.
<ref>
{{Harvard reference
 | Surname    = Browne
 | Given      = Patrick
 | Year       = 1756
 | Title      = Civil and Natural History of Jamaica
 | URL        = http://www.brunias.com/bookinfo.html#ref341
 | accessdate = 2007-03-19 }}
</ref>  
In 1763 it was classified by [[Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin|Jacquin]] as ''Sicyos edulus'' and by [[Michel Adanson|Adanson]] as ''Chocho edulus''. [[Olof Swartz|Swartz]] included it in 1800 in its current genus ''[[Sechium]]''.

== Description ==
[[Image:CutChayote.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Chayote inside]]In the most common variety, the fruit is roughly [[pear]] shaped, somewhat flattened and with coarse wrinkles, ranging from 10 to 20 cm in length. It has a thin green skin fused with the white flesh, and a single large flattened [[pip]]. The flesh has a fairly bland taste, and a texture described as a cross between a [[potato]] and a [[cucumber]]. Although generally discarded, the seed has a nutty flavour and may be eaten as part of the fruit.


== Culinary and medicinal uses ==
[[Image:Ichintal.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Ichintal (Chayote Root)]]Although most people are familiar only with the fruit, which in culinary terms is a [[vegetable]], the root, stem, seeds, and leaves are all edible.

The fruit does not need to be peeled and can be eaten raw in salads. It can also be boiled, stuffed, mashed, baked, fried, or pickled. Both the fruit and the seed are rich in [[amino acid]]s and [[vitamin C]].

The [[tuber]]ous part of the [[root]] is starchy and is both eaten by humans and used as cattle fodder.

The leaves and fruit have [[diuretic]], [[cardiovascular]] and [[anti-inflammatory]] properties, and a tea made from the leaves has been used in the treatment of [[arteriosclerosis]] and [[hypertension]], and to dissolve [[kidney stones]].

In [[Australia]], a rumour has floated around for years that [[McDonalds]] [[Apple Pie| Apple Pies]] were made of chokos, not [[apple|apples]]. This eventually led them to emphasise the fact that real Granny Smith apples are used in their pies. Chokos are more expensive than the apples supplied to McDonalds Australia.

[[Image:Longxu.jpg|right|thumb|200px|A dish made with chayote shoots]]
In [[Taiwan]], chayotes are widely planted for its [[shoot]], known as ''lóng xü cài'' (Tr. Ch. 龍鬚菜, lit. Dragon-whisker vegetable).  Along with the young [[leaves]], the shoot is a commonly consumed vegetable in the region.

== Alternate names ==

Chayote (pronounced {{IPA|[tʃa'jɔte]}}, roughly "chy-O-tay"), is the [[Spanish language|Spanish]] name of the plant, from [[Nahuatl language|Nahuatl]] ''hitzayotli''. It is used in many parts of Spanish-speaking [[Latin America]] and in the [[United States|US]]. It is known all over the world by many other names:
*Luana: ''xuxu''
*Australia: ''choko''
*Brazil: ''chuchu''
*Caribbean: ''christoferine'', ''christophene'', ''cho-cho'' 
*China (Cantonese): 佛手瓜 ''fut sao gwa'' (lit. Buddha hand melon), 合掌瓜 ''hup jeung gwa'' (lit. closed palms squash)
*China (Mandarin): 佛手瓜 (lit. "Buddha hand squash")
*Dominican Republic: ''tayota'' [ta'jɔta]
*English-speaking countries<!--WHERE?
-->: ''chouchou'', ''chocho'', ''cho-cho'', ''mango squash'', ''vegetable pear''
*French Antilles: ''christophene'', ''christophine'' 
*Guatemala-El Salvador-Honduras: The dark green variety is labeled '''güisquil''', the yellowish-white variety '''perulero''' and the more common light-green variety '''pataste'''.[[Image:Perulero.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Perulero (yelowish-white variety)]]
*India (Kannada): ''Seemae BaDhneKayi''
*India (Tamil): ''Bangalore Katharikai''
*India (Darjeeling): ''Ishkus''
*Indonesia: ''labu siam'' (lit. Siamese pumpkin), ''jipang'' (Djogja and Center Java) or ''waluh''
*Italy: ''zucca centenaria''
*Jamaica: "chocho"
*Japan: ''hayatouri'' (ハヤトウリ)
*Latin America<!--WHERE?-->: ''tayote''
*Latin America<!--WHERE?-->: ''chocho''
*Latin America<!--WHERE?-->: ''gayota''
*Louisiana (Cajun, Creole, English): ''mirliton'' (sometimes spelled ''merliton'')
*Mauritius: ''chouchou''
*Myanmar: ''gorakha thee'' (lit. Gurkha fruit)
*Norway: ''chavote''
*Philippines: ''sayote''
*Portugal: ''pipinella''
*Réunion Island: ''chouchou''
*Russian: ''cajot''
*Slovenia: ''čajota''
*Thailand: ''fuk maew'' ''ฟักแม้ว''
*Vietnamese: ''su-su'', ''trai su''

==See also ==
* [[List of vegetables]]
* [[Araujia sericifera]], a toxic weed that is often described as "choko-like".

== External links ==
{{commons|Sechium edule|Chayote}}
{{reflist}}
* [http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/chayotes.htm Gourmet Sleuth]
* [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/1492/chayote.html neglected crops - Chayote]
* [http://www.killerplants.com/plant-of-the-week/20050808.asp Plant of the Week Gallery - Killerplants.com ] 
== References ==
* Rafael Lira Saade. 1996. Chayote ''Sechium edule'' (Jacq.) Sw. Promoting the conservation and use of underutilized and neglected crops. 8. Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Gatersleben/International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy. ISBN 92-9043-298-5 [http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pdf/355.pdf available in pdf format]

[[Category:Vegetable-like fruits]]
[[Category:Leaf vegetables]]
[[Category:Tropical agriculture]]
[[Category:Cucurbitaceae]]
[[Category:Flora of Mexico]]
[[Category:Underutilized crops]]
[[Category:Vietnamese cuisine]]