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Kedrostis africana
Also called Bryony, Cape Bryony
Kedrostis africana is a climbing succulent from southern Africa, grown from a large underground caudex that stores water. The key to growing it is well-drained soil, a warm sunny spot, watering in summer only, and protection from frost.
Kedrostis africana (or baboon's cucumber) is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae. It is native to Namibia and South Africa.
This species can be propagated with seeds or cuttings. Because they can produce separate male and female flowers on the same plant, they are self-fertile. This also allows their orange fruit to readily show. They also grow very slowly.
This plant should be protected from drought, frost and excessive sunlight. Baboon's cucumbers should be grown in well-drained soil, with lots of water during the growing season. Providing with warmth and fertiliser during its active will also speed up its growth.
This species is indigenous to southern Africa, occurring from Namibia in the north west, southwards as far as Worcester and the Gourits River valley, through the Karoo as far as Port Elizabeth in the south east, and northwards to KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga in the north east.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Kedrostis africana by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
