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Julia R. Ambrose
Scientific Officer
SEPASAL
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
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SEPASAL
SURVEY OF ECONOMIC PLANTS FOR ARID AND SEMI-ARID LANDS
Centre for Economic Botany, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond,
Surrey TW9 3AE, U.K.
Tel: +44- (0)181 332 5772/3
Fax: +44- (0)181 332 5768
E-mail:[email protected]
These data have been generated from the SEPASAL database using the
listed search parameters and data output fields.
Search Criteria: Acanthosicyos horridus
Data Fields provided in the output: All data fields.
Available output fields include: Family, Accepted Botanical Names,
Synonyms, Vernacular Names, Distribution, Descriptors, Uses, notes and
References.
c Copyright of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 13 October, 1997.
These data are provided for the purpose of research or private study.
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SEPASAL is funded by the Clothworkers' Foundation.
SEPASAL Database
13/10/1997
CUCURBITACEAE (75)
Acanthosicyos horridus Welw. ex Hook.f. [756]
SYNONYMS
Acanthosicyos horrida Welw.
VERNACULAR NAMES
English - naras [601], narras [1619]; English [seed oil] - narras
[1618]; German - Nara [1620]; Topnaar (Namibia) - !nara [896]; Topnaar
(Namibia) [seeds] - botterpitte [1620].
DISTRIBUTION
Native - Angola [756], Cape Province [756], Namibia [1185] [601],
Walvis Bay [756].
Introduced - Arizona [1619], California (S.) [1619].
DESCRIPTORS
DESCRIPTION
Primary Producer; Terrestrial; Shrub; Perennial; Erect; Dioecious
[896]. Thorny/Spiny - unspecified parts. Plant Height 0.5-1 m [756].
CLIMATE
Subtropical, Hot and Arid [1619].
SOILS
Saline; Dry.
HABITAT
Plains/Flats/Pans [2104], Active Dunes [601] [896] [1619] [756]
[1620].
CHEMICAL ANALYSES
Nutritional Analyses - infructescences [187], seeds [601] [1618] [187]
[896]; Antinutritional Factors - infructescences [1671] [1620],
'roots' [1671]; Vitamin B1 (thiamine) - infructescences [187], Vitamin
B2/Vitamin G (riboflavin) - infructescences [187], Vitamin B7/Vit. P-P
(nicotinamide, nicotinic acid) - infructescences [187], seeds [187];
Unspecified Carbohydrates - infructescences [187], seeds [187];
Unspecified Lipids - infructescences [187], seeds [896] [187] [601]
[1618]; Proteins - infructescences [187], seeds [187] [601] [896];
Triterpenoids (unspecified) - infructescences [2111].
USES
FOOD
- Leaves (green vegetables [1185])
- Infructescences (entire mature fruits, dessert fruits, raw [756]
[1620]; potable water [1171]; fruit pulp, beers [1620]; fruit pulp,
other preparations [187] [1620]; fruits, famine food [1672]; potable
water, famine food [1619]; fruits, staple food [187] [1619]; fruits
[2104]) - Seeds [187] [2104] (confectionery [601]; seed oil,
oils/fats [756] [1507]; nuts [756] [1620];
famine food [1672]; snack food [1672]; staple food [1619])
FOOD ADDITIVES
- Infructescences (fruits, rennet substitutes/milk curdlers [2101])
ANIMAL FOOD
- Aerial Parts (young leaves, forage [1672])
MATERIALS
- Lipids (seed oil [1507] [1618])
FUELS
- Fuelwood [1620]
ENVIRONMENTAL USES
- Erosion Control (dunes [756] [1613] [1620] [1672])
notes
NOMENCLATURE/TAXONOMY
Meeuse (1962) describes the taxon using the specific epithet horrida;
the gender rules of the 'Botanical Code' dictate that the correct
epithet is horridus [756]
ORIGIN/DOMESTICATION
Domestication:
Imported from Pretoria, South Africa (April-June 1922) for
establishment on the sand dunes of Arizona and southern California
[1619] Domestication: Very specific habitat requirements (see
SOILS/DRAINAGE) mean that A. horridus is not suitable for
domestication, but maximum utilisation in the wild is recommended
[187] Domestication: Wild and semi-cultivated forms are used by
indigenous peoples [1613] Origin: Endemic to the Namib desert [601]
RARITY/CONSERVATION
Action required to prevent population decline due to drying up [1620]
Namibia: Between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund in the 1970s, nara plants
were drying up and dying, probably due to groundwater extraction from
Rooibank. Herre (1975) proposed that many more plants would die
unless action was taken [1620] Namibia: Grows in an uninhabited area
reserved for possible future mining or as a tourist attraction [1673]
DESCRIPTION
Fruits:
Subglobose-ellipsoid, 15 cm long
Fruits:
Up to c. 20 cm in diameter [756]
Habit:
Xerophytic (reduced leaves, spines, leathery perianth, etc.), without
tendrils [756] Leaves: Has the appearance of being leafless, the
leaves being reduced to stiff scales [1672] Roots: Woody rootstock
[756] Seeds: 14-15 x 9-11 x 6-7 mm [756] Thorns: Many [1171]
FOOD - INFLORESCENCES
Fruits:
Eaten by Bushmen of Namibia [2104]
FOOD - INFRUCTESCENCES
Entire mature fruits, dessert fruits, raw:
Bitter and unpalatable when green [756]
Entire mature fruits, dessert fruits, raw:
Collected regularly by Topnaar Hottentots and left to ripen in storage
[1620] Fruit pulp, beers: The fruit are collected regularly by Topnaar
Hottentots and left to ripen in storage. They are cooked, sieved, the
kernels collected and the remainder used for beer brewing [1620] Fruit
pulp, other preparations: The flesh is preserved by boiling it to a
pulp [187] Fruit pulp, other preparations: The fruits are collected
regularly by Topnaar Hottentots and left to ripen in storage. Then
they are cooked, sieved, the kernels collected and the remainder used
for a variety of purposes [1620] Fruits, famine food: The Himba Herero
of the Kaokoveld consider the fruits to be an emergency food and not a
staple [1672] Fruits, staple food: For about four months of the year,
the Hottentots of Namibia survive with practically no other source of
food [1619] Fruits, staple food: Topnaar Hottentots live for much of
the year almost exclusively on this fruit [187] Potable water, famine
food: For about four months of the year, the Hottentots of Namibia
survive with practically no other source of water [1619]
FOOD - SEEDS
Confectionery:
Used in South African food industry [601]
Eaten by Bushmen of Namibia [2104]
Famine food:
The Himba Herero of the Kaokoveld consider the seeds to be an
emergency food and not a staple [1672] Nuts: Excellent substitute for
almonds [756] [1620] Staple food: For about four months of the year,
the Hottentots of Namibia survive with practically no other source of
food [1619] Very popular [187]
ANIMAL FOOD - AERIAL PARTS
Young leaves, forage:
Both wild and domestic herbivores eat the new growth. Older growth is
not heavily browsed, which would diminish the species' role in dune
stabilization [1672]
MATERIALS - LIPIDS
Seed oil:
High quality [1507]
FUELS
Fuelwood:
The fibrous wood is only held together by bark and is of little use
other than as firewood [1620]
ENVIRONMENTAL USES - EROSION CONTROL
Dunes:
As older growth is not heavily browsed, dense bushes develop. These
stabilise the small dunes which are themselves gradually built up
[1672] Dunes: Dense and large bushes develop which trap sand particles
and, as they emerge, build-up dunes [756]
NUTRITIONAL VALUE
Fruits:
g 100 g-1: moisture 84; ash 1.6; protein 1.4; fat 0.3; fibre 1;
carbohydrate 11.7; kJ 100 g-1: energy value 231 mg 100 g-1: Ca 21.4;
Mg 19; Fe 0.5; Na 14.1; K 654; Cu 0.3; Zn 0.6; P 22.4; thiamin 0.01;
riboflavin 0.02; nicotininc acid 0.75* * = value greater than 20 percent of
average daily requirement [187] Seed cake: Protein obtained from
oil-free seed cake by extraction with 10 percent NaCl resembled edestin in
being soluble only in buffers of relatively high salt concentration.
Molecular weight of 343,000 measured at ionic strength (I)1.0 and pH
7.8 [601] Seeds: 48 percent fat in kernel; iodine value 116.6; saponification
value 181.4; refractive index 1.4768 [1618] Seeds: g 100 g-1: moisture
5.3; ash 3.4; protein 30.7*; fat 5.7; fibre 1.3; carbohydrate 2.3; kJ
100 g-1: energy value 2709* mg 100 g-1: Ca 100; Mg 363*; Fe 4*; Na 3;
K 400; Cu 3.9*; Zn 5.5*; P 8.11*; nicotininc acid 2.17* * = value
greater than 20 percent of average daily requirement [187] Seeds: Kernels
contain 35 percent protein and 53 percent fat [601] Seeds: Rich in protein,
magnesium, copper, zinc, phosphorus, nicotinic acids and energy, the
seeds are very popular [187] Seeds: The seeds make up approximately
one third of the volume of the fruit, and when fully ripe contain 20 percent
water. In terms of food value they are by far the richest component
of the fruit. They contain 25 percent protein, 29 percent fat, 38 percent fibre, 4 percent ash
and 4 percent undetermined sugars. Zinc, copper and manganese are present,
as are macro-elements such as calcium and iron (Borman, s.d. cited in
Sandelowsky, 1977) [896]
ANTINUTRITIONAL FACTORS
Fruits:
Bitter principles occur as aglycones in the fruit [1671]
Fruits:
Ripe fruits often contain oxalic acid, which burns the mouth [1620]
Roots: Bitter principles occur as glycocides in the roots [1671]
CHEMICAL ANALYSES - MISCELLANEOUS
Triterpenes:
The fruits contain cucurbitacins B and D and smaller amounts of G and
H [2111]
CLIMATE
Adapted to a hot, dry climate, with little or no rainfall [1619]
Arid
TOPOGRAPHY/SITES
Namibia, Walvis Bay:
When young the species colonises the outer half of the dunes. It
grows through wind-blown sand, and thus builds the dune further. It
needs sand in order to thrive and wastes away on level Earth [1620]
Namibia: Fringes of salt flats [2104] Southern Africa: Forms dense and
large bushes on small dunes which the plant builds up itself by
catching the sand and emerging every time it is covered [756]
DRAINAGE
Namibia, Walvis Bay:
Grows on dunes by exploiting subterranean water, even where this is at
great depth [1619] [1620]
SOILS
Namibia:
Loose dune sand [896]
VEGETATION
Forms thorny thickets on sand dunes [601]
POLLINATION
Insecta:
Pollen sticky, so pollination probably by insects. Male flowers
appear c. 4 weeks before female flowers: this could be a device to
attract pollinating insects so that they are already accustomed to the
flowers when the time for fertilisation arrives [1620]
FLOWERING/FRUITING/SEED SET
Flowering:
Male flowers appear about 4 weeks before female flowers [1620]
Fruiting:
>From December, for one month
GERMINATION
Can survive extremely dry conditions but requires a little rain for
germination [896] When the fruits are covered by sand, the flesh may
be eaten by white maggots, leaving the kernel unharmed. It is
uncertain whether the kernels are still able to germinate. Fruits
which ripen on the bush always have a hole in the seed and are empty
[1620]
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Takes place directly through the stem and spines [1672]
ASSOCIATED INSECTS
Coleoptera:
One of two perennial plants on which the South-West Africa Namib
Desert beetle, Onymacris plana, depends. (The other plant is the
grass Stipagrostis sabulicola (Pilg.) De Winter.) The beetle is a
long-lived, wingless, day-time tenebrionid which frequents open sand
dunes. These two plants provide food and shelter. During extreme
drought the plants sometimes restrict their growth to such an extent
that they become unattractive to the beetle, which then migrates [881]
SEED WEIGHT
Weight of 1000 seeds:
256 g
PROPAGATION FROM SEED
Seeds germinate well in greenhouses but it is difficult to raise
seedlings under artificial conditions [1620]
TRADE
International:
Exported in large quantities to Cape Town from Namibia [756]
International:
Sold in Cape Town as an almond substitute [187]
International:
The kernels are dried and exchanged for goods in Walvis Bay where they
are shipped to Cape Town as an almond substitute [1620]
ESTABLISHED PLANTINGS
Imported from Pretoria, South Africa (April-June 1922) for
establishment on the sand dunes of Arizona and southern California
[1619]
SUMMARY EVALUATION/POTENTIAL
A plant of considerable interest, growing in areas where few other
plants survive [896] Food plant of considerable nutritional value
growing in areas where few others survive; worthy of further
investigation [1672] There are doubts about its domestication
potential [187]
RESEARCH NEEDS
Ethnobotany:
A closer study is certain to provide significant ethnobotanical
information [896] Merits research as potential source of high quality
oil seeds [1507] Merits trials as sand-binder [1507]
REFERENCES
[187] Arnold, T.H., Wells, M.J. and Wehmeyer, A.S. 1985. Khoisan food
plants: taxa with potential for future economic exploitation. In
Wickens, G.E., Goodin, J.R. and Field, D.V., eds. $$Plants for arid
lands.$$ London, U.K.: Unwin Hyman. Pp. 69-86. En. Proceedings of
the Kew International Conference on Economic Plants for Arid Lands,
23-27 July 1984, held in the Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanic
Gardens, Kew, England. [601] Joubert, F.J. and Cooper, D.R. 1953.
Naras seed protein (Acanthosicyos horrida.). $$Nature$$ 172(4391):
1190. En. [756] Meeuse, A.D.J. 1962. The Cucurbitaceae of Southern
Africa. $$Bothalia$$ 8: 1-111. En. [881] Roer, H. 1975. The life
cycle of the Namib Desert beetle Onymacris plana Peringuey
(Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae, Adesmiini) with special regard to its
migratory behaviour. $$Bonn. Zool. Beitr.$$ 26(1-3): 239-256. Ge.
Cited in Biol. Abstr. 60(10): 53658. [896] Sandelowsky, B.H. 1977.
Mirabib: an archaeological study in the Namib. $$Madoqua$$ 10(4):
221-284. En. Cited in Biol. Abstr. 67(3): 17697, 1979. [1171] Fox,
F.W. and Norwood Young, M.E. 1982. $$Food from the veld. Edible wild
plants of Southern Africa.$$ Johannesburg and Cape Town: Delta.
399p. En. [1185] Goodin, J.R. and Northington, D.K., eds. 1985.
$$Plant resources of arid and semi-arid lands - a global
perspective.$$ Orlando: Academic Press Inc. xiii, 338p. En. [1507]
Jeffrey, C. 1979. The economic potential of some Cucurbitaceae and
Compositae of tropical Africa. In Kunkel G., ed. $$Taxonomic aspects
of African economic botany. Proceedings of the 9th Plenary Meeting of
AETFAT, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 18-23 March 1978.$$ Islas
Canarias, Spain: Excmo-Ayuntamiento de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Pp. 35-38. En. [1613] Jeffrey, C. 1982. $$Pers. comm.$$ En. [1618]
Eckey, E.W. 1954. $$Vegetable fats and oils.$$ New York, U.S.A.:
Reinhold Publishing Corporation. 836p. En. [1619] U.S. Department of
Agriculture 1922. $$Acanthosicyos horrida Welw., 55486. USDA
Inventory Seeds and Plants Imported 1922. No. 71.$$ Washington,
D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture. 49p. En. [1620] Herre, H.
1975. Die Narapflanze. $$Namib Meer$$ 5-6: 27-31. Ge (En). [1671]
Enslin, P.R. and Rehm, S. 1958. The distribution and biogenesis of
the cucurbitacins in relation to the taxonomy of the Cucurbitaceae.
$$Proc. Linn. Soc. Lond.$$ 169(3): 230-238. En. [1672] Sandelowsky,
B.H. 1990. Acanthosicyos horridus, a multipurpose plant of the Namib
Desert in southwestern Africa. In Bates, D.M., Robinson, R.W. and
Jeffrey, C., eds. $$Biology and utilization of the Cucurbitaceae.$$
Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Pp. 349-355. En. [1673]
Sandelowsky, B.H. and Camby, R.G. 1985. $$Namibia yesterday today and
tomorrow. A seful cucurbit throughout the ages.$$ 7p. En.
Unpublished typescript prepared for the conference Arid Lands Today
and Tomorrow. [2101] Marloth, R. 1913-1932. $$The flora of South
Africa: with synoptical tables of the genera of the higher plants.
Volumes 1-4.$$ Capetown: Darter Bros.; London: W. Wesley. En. [2104]
Hardy, D.S. and De Winter, B. Date unknown. $$Herbarium specimen:
Hardy and De Winter 1489.$$ Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. En. [2111]
Hylands, P.J. and Magot, M.S. 1986. Cucurbitacins from Acanthosicyos
horridus. $$Phytochemistry$$ 25(7): 1681-1684. En.
Julia R. Ambrose
Scientific Officer - SEPASAL
Centre for Economic Botany
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AE
tel. (direct) (0181) 332 5773
fax. (direct) (0181) 332 5738
www: http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/ceb/sepasal.html
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