Cucumis metuliferus E.Mey. ex Naudin - syn.Cucumis tinneanus Kotschy & Peyr. - Cucurbitaceae
kiwano, (African) horned melon, Horngurke, Hornmelone
Annual climbing plant, native to Central and South Africa, cultivated and naturalized elsewhere; fruit with horn-like spines (hence the name), yellow-orange skin and lime green, jelly-like flesh.
Kiwano is also a trademark name of horned melon registered by New Zealand growers. The pulp can be eaten raw including the seeds.
„Along with the Gemsbok cucumber (Acanthosicyos naudinianus) and Tsamma (Citrillus lanatus) it is one of the few sources of water during the dry season in the Kalahari Desert.“ wikipedia
„The ellipsoid fruit is bright yellow-reddish orange in color when mature and shaped like a short stout cucumber with many blunt thorns on its surface. These seeds are embedded in the mesocarp which is emerald green and consists of juicy, bland-tasting tissue.“
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/CropFactSheets/kiwano.html
„Kiwano - Cucumis metuliferus… The aroma of African cucumber is very pleasant and it is a combination of bananas and kiwi.“ Main volatiles of kiwano were butyl acetate (31.8%), isobutyl acetate (23.4%), 2-pentyl acetate (8.4%), 2-pentanone (7.3%), hexyl acetate (5.7%), isoamyl acetate (5.3%), (2E)-hexen-1-ol (4.8%), hexanal (1.7%), and hexane (1.7%).
[Myszka, Joanna, et al. „Analysis of volatile fraction selected hybrid fruits using chromatographic techniques.“ World Scientific News 75 (2017): 33-49]
PDF
Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, vol.137 [ser.4, vol.7], t.8385 (1911) [M.Smith] plantgenera.org
Cucumis metuliferus, Ehlanzeni, South Africa (2022) © Richard Gill CC BY-SA 4.0 inaturalist.org