Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

These are on the beaches at the moment. They are attached to long stringy branches and look a bit like Apples. Any one know what they are.

They are a wild squash, the locals eat them, but they are tasteless!

I wouldn't eat them if I were you. They are bitter and could be poisonous.

I picked few in the past and showed them to a local. I was inquisitive about them i.e. "are they edible??".
The answer was. do not consume / eat... they are poisonous.

be safe and don't damage your organs.
fatsam

SKYBLUESAM wrote:They are a wild squash, the locals eat them, but they are tasteless!

I know they tend to like quite 'chintzy' furniture and ornate light fittings, but tasteless is a bit harsh.

Oh, you mean the wild squashes and not the locals

chiangbill my friend,
The plant is poisonous and I suggest you do read the description below. Please avoid it. If it is edible you would find the roaming sheep and other animals consume it



"Bitter-apple" and spelling variants redirect here. This is also used for the poisonous Soda Apple, a species of nightshade.



Citrullus colocynthis
Citrullus colocynthis - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-040.jpg
Citrullus colocynthis from Koehler's Medicinal-Plants (1887).

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Cucurbitales
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Genus: Citrullus
Species: C. colocynthis

Binomial name

Citrullus colocynthis
(L.) Schrad.

Synonyms[1]






Citrullus colocynthis,

with many common names including colocynth,[2] bitter apple,[2] bitter cucumber,[2] desert gourd,[citation needed] egusi,[citation needed] vine of Sodom,[2] or wild gourd,[2] is a desert viny plant native to the Mediterranean Basin and Asia, especially Turkey (especially in regions such as İzmir), Nubia and Trieste. It resembles a common watermelon vine but bears small, hard fruits with a bitter pulp. It originally bore the scientific name Colocynthis citrullus, but is now classified as Citrullus colocynthis.


Citrullus colocynthis is a desert viny plant that grows in sandy arid soils. It is native to the Mediterranean Basin and Asia and is distributed among the west coast of northern Africa, eastward through the Sahara, Egypt until India and reaches also the north coast of the Mediterranean and the Caspian seas. It grows also in southern European countries as in Spain and on the islands of the Grecian archipelago. On the island of Cyprus it is cultivated on a small scale; it has been an income source since the 14th century and is still exported today. It is an annual or a perennial plant (in wild) in Indian arid zone and has a great survival rate under extreme xeric conditions.[3] In fact, it can tolerate annual precipitation of 250 to 1500 mm and an annual temperature of 14.8 to 27.8 °C. it grows from sea level up to 1500 m.a.s.l. on sandy loam, sub-desert soils, and sandy sea costs with a pH range between 5.0 and 7.8.[4]


Be safe, healthy and live longer to make someone happy (yourself)
fatsam

erol wrote:

SKYBLUESAM wrote:They are a wild squash, the locals eat them, but they are tasteless!

I know they tend to like quite 'chintzy' furniture and ornate light fittings, but tasteless is a bit harsh.

Oh, you mean the wild squashes and not the locals

fatsam wrote:chiangbill my friend,
The plant is poisonous and I suggest you do read the description below. Please avoid it. If it is edible you would find the roaming sheep and other animals consume it
fatsam

It can either be eaten or elaborated for further uses in medicine and as energy source.... it is not poisonous - it just tastes poisonous.

On the island of Cyprus it is cultivated on a small scale; it has been an income source since the 14th century and is still exported today.

Each of the 3 carpels bears exactly 6 seeds.

Very good Erol!!!

Groucho my friend
I am curious ....
Can you please clarify / explain the meaning " it just tastes poisonous"?
I am very interested in knowing the outcome of consuming something "taste like poisonous!!!!!
Would I feel baaaaa, ooops ? or would I just be "like dead but not exactly dead"?????

I like your humour
fatsam

fatsam wrote:Groucho my friend
Can you please clarify / explain the meaning " it just tastes poisonous"?
I am very interested in knowing the outcome of consuming something "taste like poisonous!!!!!
Would I feel baaaaa, ooops ? or would I just be "like dead but not exactly dead"?????

I like your humour
fatsam

Plenty of things that taste unpleasant are not poisonous - some would say Marmite or Brussels sprouts ... both of which I love but my wife hates... Jack Sprat etc. etc.

As it is they are bitter as hell and so not normally eaten with any great gusto... but if you were starving I guess people will eat such things.

still, like your humour.
fatsam

fatsam wrote:

still, like your humour.
fatsam

That's something else my wife finds odious!