Apodanthera

Arnott

J. Bot. (Hooker) 3: 274. 1841.

Common names: Melon loco
Etymology: Greek a- , without, podos, foot, and anthera, anther, alluding to sessile anthers
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 6. Treatment on page 28. Mentioned on page 5.
 TaxonIllustrator 
FNA6 P05 Apodanthera undulata.jpegApodanthera undulata var. undulata
Tumamoca macdougalii
Ibervillea lindheimeri
Yevonn Wilson-Ramsey
Yevonn Wilson-Ramsey
Yevonn Wilson-Ramsey

Plants perennial, monoecious [dioecious], prostrate and trailing; stems annual, strigose; roots tuberous; tendrils unbranched or 2–3-branched. Leaves: blade reniform to orbiculate-cordate, unlobed or shallowly palmately 5-lobed [3–5-foliolate], lobes rounded, margins dentate, often undulate-crisped, surfaces eglandular. Inflorescences: staminate flowers (1–) 2–5 in racemes [corymbs] from proximal axils; pistillate flowers 5–12 in fascicles in distal axils [solitary]; bracts filiform-subulate or absent. Flowers: hypanthium subcylindric to narrowly funnelform; sepals 5, linearlanceolate; petals 5, distinct, yellow, oblong-obovate to elliptic-oblanceolate, [ovate or ovatelanceolate], [1–] 16–25 (–35) mm, glabrate, corolla broadly funnelform-campanulate to rotate. Staminate flowers: stamens 3; filaments inserted near hypanthium rim, distinct, nearly vestigial; thecae distinct, oblong to suborbiculate, connective narrow; pistillodes absent. Pistillate flowers: ovary 3-locular, ovoid to oblong; ovules ca. 3–35 per locule; style 1, short-columnar to nearly absent; stigmas 3, linear; staminodes absent. Fruits pepos, silvery green to green with darker, raised, broad, longitudinal stripes, subglobose to depressed-globose [ovoid or ellipsoid], smooth or ribbed, indehiscent. Seeds [8–] 30–80 [–100], ellipsoid-obovoid [ovoid to obovoid or broadly ellipsoid], biconvex [compressed], not arillate, margins a broad, flat, light-colored band, surface smooth. x = 14.

Distribution

sw United States, Mexico, Central America, South America

Discussion

Species ca. 19 (1 in the flora).

Plants of Apodanthera were reported to be gender-diphasic, switching from staminate to pistillate (V. A. Delesalle 1989). Apodanthera herrerae Harms, a species of Andean South America, is grown for its edible tubers.

Selected References

None.

... more about "Apodanthera"
distinct +  and connate +
Guy L. Nesom +
Arnott +
light-colored +
reniform;orbiculate-cordate unlobed or shallowly palmately 5-lobed +
filiform-subulate +
tubular +, saucer--shaped +, campanulate +  and rotate +
Melon loco +
broadly funnelform-campanulate;rotate +
sw United States +, Mexico +, Central America +  and South America +
Greek a- , without, podos, foot, and anthera, anther, alluding to sessile anthers +
furrowed +  and echinate +
dehiscent +  and indehiscent +
bristly +, smooth +, hairy +  and glabrous +
tuberculate +  and muricate +
fleshy +  and hard +
pistillate +  and staminate +
silvery green +  and green with darker +
perennial +
dioecious +  and monoecious +
subcylindric +
umbellate;subumbellate +
solitary +, corymbose +, fasciculate +, racemose +  and paniculate +
petiolate +, estipulate +  and simple +
rounded +
undulate-crisped +
ovoid;oblong +
induplicate-valvate +  and imbricate +
2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br /> (3.5 cm35 mm <br />0.035 m <br />) +
distinct +
oblong-obovate;elliptic-oblanceolate +
1.6 cm16 mm <br />0.016 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br />) +
J. Bot. (Hooker) +
not arillate +
biconvex +  and ellipsoid-obovoid +
climbing +  and procumbent +
sprawling +  and prostrate +
ribbed +  and smooth +
indehiscent +
short-columnar +
Apodanthera +
Cucurbitaceae +
2-3-branched +  and unbranched +
distinct +
oblong +  and suborbiculate +