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Zehneria scabra
Also called Cape Zehneria, Chirati, South African Zehneria, Wild Cucumber
Zehneria scabra is a perennial climbing or trailing herb in the gourd family that can reach about 10 m, with bright red oval fruits. It is a wild African and Asian plant rather than a common garden or houseplant, so care is mostly about giving it warmth, humidity and a support to climb.
Zehneria scabra is a perennial climbing or trailing herb that belong to the family Cucurbitaceae.
The plant is widely distributed in Tropical Africa, and present in Madagascar, India, and in Java, Indonesia.
In Ethiopia, the herb is known locally as 'hareg ressa' where its fruits and leaves are crushed and oil extracted used to treat scabies. Extracts from the herb are traditionally used to treat diarrhea, alopecia, wound and eczema. Oil extracts are also used to treat skin related infections among the Pare of Tanzania.
Zehneria alba · Zehneria baueriana · Zehneria capillacea · Zehneria maysorensis · Zehneria tridactyla · Zehneria
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Zehneria scabra 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.
