Melothria
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Authority
Britton, Nathaniel L. & Millspaugh, Charles F. 1920. The Bahama Flora.
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Family
Cucurbitaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Description - Slender vines, with simple or rarely bifid tendrils, thin leaves, and small, white or yellow, monoecious flowers, the staminate clustered, the pistillate often solitary. Calyx campanulate, 5-toothed. Corolla campanulate, deeply 5-parted. Stamens 3 in the staminate flowers, the anthers distinct or slightly united, the pistil wanting or rudimentary. Fertile flowers with 1 pistil; ovary ovoid, constricted below the corolla; placentae 3; ovules numerous; style short; stigmas 3, linear. Fruit small, berrydike, pulpy. [From the Greek for some vine, probably Bryonia cretica.] About 64 species, natives of warm and tropical regions. Type species: Melothria pendula L.