Sechium edule (chaｙote, "Hayatori")

Japanese name: ハヤトウリ （隼人瓜）
Scientific name: Sechium edule

[Overview]
A climbing perennial.
It has a large tuberous root.
The vines branch freely and grow long.
It clings to other plants with tendrils that arise from the leaf axils and branch.
The leaves are simple and alternate, broadly ovate with 3 shallow lobes, and the margins have coarse serrations.
The petioles are long.
There are male and female flowers, both greenish white, borne in racemes 10–15 cm long arising from the leaf axils.
The shape and color of the fruit vary widely, but those cultivated in Japan are pear-shaped with green or white skin.

[History]
It was introduced to Kagoshima in Taisho 6 (1917) and named Hayato-uri after the Satsuma hayato (warriors of Satsuma).

[Uses]
The fruit is eaten, and it is also used medicinally together with the leaves.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed, by division, or by cuttings.
Plant the whole fruit without removing the seed.
Bury the fruit about halfway in the soil, with the swollen end (the side where the flower was attached) tilted slightly upward.
It prefers fertile soil in a sunny, well-drained site.
Once established, rainfall is sufficient unless summer brings a long spell of sunny weather and the soil dries out.
During the growing season, apply a suitable amount of slow-release fertilizer.
Pests and diseases include downy mildew and, when grown repeatedly in the same place, gummy stem blight.

View this page in Japanese (日本語)