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PUBLISHED IN: Genera Plantarum 1: 824. 1867. TYPE: ETYMOLOGY: Latin horridus ”bristly, horrible, wild, prickly, shaggy, harsh.” SYNONYMY: Acanthosicyos horrida Welw., Trans. Linn. Soc. 27: 31. 1869. INFRASPECIFIC TAXA: VERNACULAR NAME: nara OTHER VERNACULAR NAMES: !nara (pronounced in the Nama/Damara language with an initial dental click), nara melon, narras CULTIVARS: Perhaps a semi-domesticate but with no named cultivars. DESCRIPTION: Perhaps the most unlike cucurbit of all the Cucurbitaceae. Plant dioecious and perennial, low-growing dense, tangled bush; stems stiff, semi-succulent, yellow-green, longitudinally-ridged, appearing leafless (the leaves are actually reduced to small, stiff scales), tendrils reduced to paired straight spines measuring 2–3 cm long; male plant bear solitary or fascicled yellowish green flowers in the spine axils; female plant bear only solitary flowers with a warty inferior ovary; fruit a round, spiny pepo, pale orange-yellow, and juicy; root consisting of a thick woody taproot penetrating up to 12 m in length. CHROMOSOME NUMBER: DISTRIBUTION: southwest coast of Africa from the coast of southern Angola at Mossamedes, southwards through Namibia to northwestern Namaqualand in South Africa including the Namib Desert. ECOLOGY: sand dunes and gravel plains of mostly dry river beds where subsurface water is available. EDIBLE USE: Fruit and seed edible. The ripe fruits are eaten raw, relished for their high water content, made into a preserve by a traditional process of allowing the raw fruits to soften for a few days before peeling, then boiling until the seeds are loosened and the pulp thickens and turns a dark orange. After separating the seeds, the thick pulp is poured out and allowed to dry in the sun. It solidifies in a few days, forming flat leathery cakes which are then cut into strips or rolled up; these can be stored for months for chewing or adding to porridge. The seeds are also dried in the sun, and then stored for eating or grinding into flour or used as a substitute for almonds in the confectionery business. This latter use, called ”butterpips,” are highly nutritious as well as tasty, containing up to 31% protein and 57% oil, which is high in polyunsaturated fatty acids. MEDICINAL USE: OTHER USE: Acts as sand-binding trap, thus stabilizing dunes and often forming hillocks several meters high. ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE: This species has a long history of association with the Topnaar people who inhabit the desert oases along the Kuiseb River in central Namibia. Archaeological evidence of their use dates to 8,000 years ago. Before the introduction of maize to southern Africa, nara was the staple food of the Topnaar, and even now their traditional lifestyle revolves around its harvesting. Each Topnaar family has perpetual and hereditary rights to a certain number of wild nara bushes and only their own bushes may be harvested. From November to May, the ripe fruits are picked and eaten raw. Seeds are sold to traders who export them mainly to Cape Town. CONSERVATION: CULTIVATION: SEEDS AVAILABLE FROM: POEM: —Praise poem to the !nara melon. LITERATURE: Gibbs Russell, G. E, W. G. Welman, E. Reitief, K. L. Immelman, G. Germishuizen, B. J. Pienaar, M. van Wyk, and A. Nicholas (PRECIS). 1987. List of species of southern African plants. Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa. 2(1–2): 1–152(pt. 1), 1–270(pt. 2). INTERNET: http://www.greatestplaces.org/book_pages/namib/narras/narra.html |