Fluted Pumpkin

This gourd is native to southeast Nigeria and is cultivated mainly by the Igbo people. The fruit is inedible, but the seeds are very important for protein and oil, and the leaves are used as a common vegetable. The plant and seeds are also used in traditional medicine. It is normally grown on trellises, but can be intercropped on the ground around tall plants like corn, and especially with trees.   Drawing by Joseph Dalton Hooker, copyright expired.

The fruit is large, from 6 to 41 inches long and weigh up to 22 pounds. A single fruit can have as many as 200 seeds, which can be nearly 2 inches long. They contain about 30% oil and 27% protein. The seeds can be cooked and eaten whole, or ground and fermented for use as a flavoring condiment (Ogiri). they are also ground to flour for use in baked goods.

The leaves are chopped and used in various soups and stews. They are very rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, and are antimicrobial and protective to the liver. They quickly lose nutritional value so should be bagged in plastic and refrigerated, to be cooked as soon as possible.

More on Gourds.

Caution:   In Nigeria this vegetable is called just "Pumpkin". They have some other vegetable with hollow flute-like stems they call "Fluted Pumpkin", but that usage seems to be fading. Most articles for Nigerian Fluted Pumpkin now refer to Telfairia occidentalis, but just plain "Pumpkin" also still refers to T. occidentalis. I have seen recipes including "Sliced Fluted Pumpkin" but sources specific to T. occidentalis say that fruit is inedible, so I presume this is the old usage.

Buying:   Currently dried leaves are available on the Internet, but in Nigeria they are only used fresh, losing nutritional value quickly off the plant. Seeds, even for planting, are completely unavailable in North America (June 2018). There is now a company in Florida selling fresh leaves, so the situation may improve.

Subst:   Regular Western Spinach is considered the best substitute for these very tender leaves.