Citrullus colocynthis
Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad.
| Ordre | Cucurbitales |
|---|---|
| Famille | Cucurbitaceae |
| Genre | Citrullus |
2n = 22
Origine : Afrique,
Asie de l'Ouest et du Sud
sauvage et cultivé
| Français | coloquinte |
|---|---|
| Anglais | bitter-apple |
- médicinal
- graines comestibles
- insectifuge
Description
-
feuilles et fleur -
fleur femelle -
fleur mâle
-
fruits mûrs dans l'Adrar (Mauritanie) -
fruits mûrs à Fuerteventura (Canaries) -
fruit en coupe à Fuerteventura (Canaries) -
Graines
-
fruit séché vendu en Iran
Noms populaires
| français | coloquinte |
| anglais | bitter-apple, colocynth |
- Voir les noms de la Flore populaire d'Eugène Rolland
Classification
Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad. (1838)
basionyme : Cucumis colocynthis L. (1753)
synonyme : Colocynthis vulgaris Schrad. (1833)
Cultivars
Histoire
-
Kolokunthis, Dioscoride de Vienne, 190v -
Coloquint, Fuchs, 1543, p. 377 -
Köhler, 1897. Medizinal-Pflanzen
Usages
- Voir les Plantes médicinales de Cazin (1868)
- Voir Le Floc'h, 1983, Ethnobotanique tunisienne, 241-244.
Cultivated in places on a small scale both within and outside its native area, e.g., W Africa, S Spain, N Africa, Sicily, Cyprus and Tomsk in Siberia (here under glass). The officinal "Fructus colocynthidis" (dried pulp of the fruits) has been used as a drastic purgative since ancient times. The fruit pulp contains the bitter substance cucurbitacin-E-glycoside (elateridin). The seeds yield oil, and in some places are eaten roasted or ground into flour. This plant has potential for further development as a crop for very dry areas. Forms recognized by Fursa as subsp. insipidus (Pangalo) Fursa include non-bitter variants and may represent products of introgression from C. lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai. They are found in the Mediterranean area, from Algeria to Jordan. Wild distribution: Subdesert and desert areas of N Africa, the Mediterranean, Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and (perhaps adventive) Australia.