PRODUCTS OF INHAMBANE 121 



Telfairia pedata, kno^^^l locally as jikungo, and 

 farther up the coast as mkweme, is a native of 

 East Africa, and finds a congenial home in 

 Inhambane. In Europe the seeds are some- 

 times known as Inhambane nuts. It is a 

 dioecious plant, but it is stated that the seeds 

 producing females are distinguished by a 

 depression on one side and a corresponding 

 bump on the other. The best method of pro- 

 pagation is to sow the seeds in nurseries and 

 transplant when the seedlings are 2 feet high. 

 If planted at stake the seeds are liable to be 

 eaten up by rats. One planter informed me that 

 he planted ten thousand seeds, but only fifty 

 plants came up, the rats having consumed the 

 rest of the seed. The plants are set out at 

 the base of trees, which they climb over and 

 very often kill. They bear in two years, and 

 continue to yield for several years — up to 

 seven or eight — if the soil is good, but in 

 poor soils they will probably die out the 

 third year. Telfairia belongs to the natural 

 order Curcurbitaceae, and the gourd-like fruits 

 sometimes grow to a length of over 2 feet, 

 and contain over one hundred seeds ; per- 

 haps up to forty fruits being born upon each 

 plant. 



It has never vet, as far as I am aware, been 



