750 MANUAL OF POISONOUS PLANTS 



CgjHj^^O^g. The plant is intensely bitter. The towel or sponge gourd {Luffa 

 aegyptiaca), a native of Egypt, produces a fruit one foot or more long, filled 

 with a spongy fiber, which when the outer part is removed is used to rub 

 the skin, and for many other domestic purposes. The fruits of many plants 

 of the family are economic. The nara (Acanthosicyos horrida) in Southern 

 Angola is used as food and has medicinal virtues. The: chayote (Sechium 

 edule) is cultivated in the West Indies for its fruit. The green and ripe fruit 



Fig. 437. Colocynth {CilruHus 

 colocynithis). An intensely bitter 

 plant of economic importance. (Af- 

 ter Faguet). 



of the cucumber {Cucumis sativus) native to India, has long been used for 

 food, especially for pickles, and the West Indian gherkin (C. Anguria) is also 

 cultivated for the same purpose. According to Greshoff the foliage of Cu- 

 cumis metuliferus contains saponin. He also states that he found saponin in 

 the seeds of Lagenaria vulgaris, and Cucurbita maxima. The C. myriocarpus 

 contains the toxic alkaloid myriocarpin. The musk melon {Cucumis Melo), a 

 native to British India, is now widely cultivated. Sugar and nutmeg melons 

 are well known everywhere in North America. The water melon {Citrulhs 

 vulgaris), native to tropical Africa, where large areas of wild plants occur, 

 has long been cultivated in Mediterranean countries, and is well known every- 

 where in North and South America. The citron is a form of the water melon. 

 The common pumpkin (Cucurbita Pepo) is native to southwestern North 

 America, Arizona and Mexico. It is used for stock food and for culinary pur- 

 poses. The nest-egg gourd, bush scalloped squash, crookneck squash and com- 

 mon pumpkin are all from the same species. The seeds of pumpkin and squash 

 are used in North Africa and Egypt much as peanuts are in this country and 

 have taenifuge properties. The winter squash (C. maxima) is probably also of 



