Tumamoca macdougalii
Tumamoca macdougalii Rose is a member of the Cucurbitaceae or gourd family. Also called the Tumamoc globeberry,[1] it is native to a very narrow area of the Sonoran Desert, and is found in both Sonora and Arizona. It is one of two species in genus Tumamoca.[2][3]
Tumamoca macdougalii | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Cucurbitales |
Family: | Cucurbitaceae |
Genus: | Tumamoca |
Species: | T. macdougalii |
Binomial name | |
Tumamoca macdougalii | |
Tumamoca macdougalii is a monoecious vine climbing over various shrubs. Stems die in the fall, but tuberous roots generally persist through the winter. Leaves are deeply 3-lobed, nearly cleft, each lobe similarly divided into several sections. Flowers are pale yellow with narrow corolla lobes. Pistillate (female) flowers are solitary in the leaf axils; staminate (male) flowers in racemes of 2-6 flowers. Fruits are spherical, red, rarely yellow, about 10 mm (0.4 inches) in diameter.[4]
Uses
The Seri and Tohono O'odham eat the fruits of T. macdougalii.[5][6]
References
- "Tulipa macdougalii". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
- Schaefer, Hanno; Renner, Susanne S. (February 2011), "Phylogenetic relationships in the order Cucurbitales and a new classification of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae)" (PDF), Taxon, 60 (1): 122–138, doi:10.1002/tax.601011, retrieved 2 May 2011
- Kearns, Denis M. 1994. A revision of Tumamoca (Cucurbitaceae). Madroño 41(1):23-29.
- Rose, Joseph Nelson. 1912. Tumamoca, a new genus of Cucurbitaceae. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 16(1): 21 + pl. 17.
- Felger, R. S. and M. B. Moser. 1985. People of the Desert and Sea. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.
- Hodgson, W. C. 2001. Food Plants of the Sonoran Desert. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.