Sechium edule
| Habit | vine-climber
| |
|---|---|---|
| Height: | ⇕ | 10 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 10. |
| Width: | ⇔ | 10 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 10. to 20 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 20. |
| Lifespan: | ⌛ | perennial |
| Exposure: | ☼ | sun, part-sun |
|---|---|---|
| Features: | ✓ | edible, fruit |
| USDA Zones: | 9 to 12 |
|
Sechium > |
edule > |
The chayote (Sechium edule), also known as chuchu, sayote, tayota, choko, chocho, chow-chow, christophene, mirliton, vegetable pear, starprecianté, and pear squash is an edible plant that belongs to the gourd family Cucurbitaceae along with melons, cucumbers and squash.
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 looks like a green pear and it has a thin green skin fused with the white flesh, and a single large flattened pit. 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[citation needed] and may be eaten as part of the fruit.
Chayote vine can be grown on the ground, but it is a climbing plant that will grow onto anything and can easily rise as high as 12 meters when it can reach a tree or house. Its leaves are heart-shaped, 10–25 cm wide and with tendrils on the stem. The flowers are cream-colored or somewhat green that come out beneath a leaf or branch. If the plant is male, the flowers will show in clusters. The plant’s fruit is light green and elongated with deep ridges lengthwise.
Cultivation
Propagation
Pests and diseases
Varieties
Gallery
Perulero (yellowish-white variety)
Sprouting chayote, showing reproductive process of this plant
photo 3
References
External links
- w:Sechium edule. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
- Sechium edule QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)