2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Colocynthis (lat. Citrullus colocynthis) - a representative of the genus Watermelon of the Pumpkin family. It is a native of Asia and the Mediterranean Sea. Today, the species is considered the predecessor of the cultivated watermelon (common watermelon), although some scientists believe that both species are descended from the Tsama Melon (Latin Citrullus ecirrhosus). Under natural conditions, colocynth grows in North Africa, Iran and the Arabian Peninsula, and is often found on the Mediterranean coast. Cultivated in limited quantities in countries with hot climates. It is not particularly popular among gardeners; it is grown mainly for medicinal purposes.
Characteristics of culture
Colocynth is a perennial herb with creeping and creeping angularly grooved thin stems of green color, equipped with spirally twisted unbranched or bipartite antennae. The root system is strong, the main root is fleshy and thick. Leaves are coarse, pubescent with glandular or simple hairs, alternate, petiolate, 3-5-tylopaste, rounded-notched in outline, up to 12 cm long. Flowers are single, yellow, axillary, have a tubular five-part corolla and a short, strongly pubescent peduncle.
The fruit is a polyspermous spherical berry with a smooth, dense green skin with dark spots. When ripe, the crust changes color to straw-yellow, and a gap forms in the center of the fruit. The flesh of the colocynth fruit is white or yellowish, bitter, odorless, up to 10 cm in diameter. The seeds are yellow, smooth, flat, ovoid. Colocynth blooms in August-September, fruits ripen in September-October. In some countries, the species of watermelon in question is considered a weed.
Growing
In general, the agricultural technology of colocynth is similar to the cultivation of common watermelon. Sowing is carried out with seeds in seedling boxes, under a film shelter or in a greenhouse. Before sowing, the seeds need preliminary processing: they are wrapped in natural cloth or gauze and poured with lukewarm water for two days (the water is periodically changed). The hatched seeds are sown in a moist nutrient substrate to a depth of 1 cm. The optimum temperature is 18-20C. To obtain high-quality planting material, it is important to provide the seedlings with careful care and a favorable environment.
Before planting in open ground, the plants must be systematically watered, but without waterlogging, because all types of watermelons are negative towards this. The first feeding is carried out with the appearance of one or two true leaves. It is advisable to use liquid complex fertilizers as top dressing. On cloudy days, the seedlings are illuminated. Landing in open ground is carried out after the spring frosts have passed, that is, in late May - early June. But at night, it is preferable to cover young plants with a film. Before planting, the seedlings can be treated with biostimulants, this procedure will speed up and facilitate the process of survival. Hardening for colocynth seedlings is also important.
After planting, after about 7-10 days, the plants are fed. In the future, care is formed by their simplest procedures: watering, weeding, light loosening and preventive treatments against pests and diseases. It is important not to allow waterlogging, otherwise the death of colocynts cannot be avoided. The use of chemicals for weed control is not allowed. Water for irrigation should be warm and settled.
Usage
For culinary purposes, colocynth is practically not used, most often it is used in medicine. Their colocynth fruit produces powders that are effective for constipation and liver diseases. Often, plant extracts are included in medicines that successfully fight dropsy. An overdose of drugs made on the basis of colocynth fruit can be harmful and cause severe pain in the gastrointestinal tract.
The seeds of the fruits have a rather attractive composition, despite the fact that they have a bitter taste, they are very useful, albeit in limited quantities. From them, oil is obtained under industrial conditions. Today, drugs using even a small fraction of colocynth extracts are not used in official medicine, since they were found to be toxic, although relatively recently they attracted the attention of scientists involved in the development of drugs that are effective in treating cancer.
