Coccinia sessilifolia (Sond.) Cogn.

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Photo: Tony Benn
Gaborone

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Synonyms:	Cephalandra sessilifolia Sond. Coccinia schinzii Cogn.
Common names:
Frequency:
Status:	Native
Description:	Perennial creeping or climbing herb with annual hairless stems, growing from tuberous rootstock. Leaves 3–9 × sessile, more or less clasping the stem, broadly ovate in outline, deeply palmately 3–5-lobed, 4–13 cm long, cordate, more or less blue-green, hairless but often sparsely to densely scabrid-punctate; margins entire to coarsely and usually sharply sinuate-dentate or lobed again. Tendrils simple. Male flowers solitary or in clusters or racemes; pedicels 0·8–7·5 cm long, of racemose flowers 1–2 cm. long; female flowers solitary; corollas pale yellow, sometimes with pinkish tinge, green-veined. Fruit ellipsoid-fusiform or ellipsoid-cylindrical, 5·5–10·5 cm long, often shortly beaked, bright red.
Notes:
Derivation of specific name:	sessilifolia: with sessile leaves
Habitat:	In wooded grassland.
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution:	Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.
Botswana distribution:	N,SW,SE
Growth form(s):
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Content last updated:	Tuesday 17 March 2020
Literature:	Jeffrey, C. (1978). Cucurbitaceae Flora Zambesiaca 4 Page 447. Kirby, G. (2013). Wild Flowers of Southeast Botswana Struik Nature, Cape Town South Africa Page 164. (Includes a picture). Setshogo, M.P. (2005). Preliminary checklist of the plants of Botswana. Sabonet Report no. 37. Sabonet, Pretoria and Gaborone Page 52.

Other sources of information about Coccinia sessilifolia:

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Coccinia sessilifolia
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Coccinia sessilifolia
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Coccinia sessilifolia
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Coccinia sessilifolia
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Coccinia sessilifolia
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Coccinia sessilifolia
JSTOR Plant Science: Coccinia sessilifolia
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Coccinia sessilifolia
Plants of the World Online: Coccinia sessilifolia
Tropicos: Coccinia sessilifolia
Wikipedia: Coccinia sessilifolia