I have only grown one curcurbit, but that one's got a great caudex. I don't know the answers to your questions, but the plant looks great.

What Coccinia make edible tubers? What sources of seeds are available for these species? I live in the Southwest where I feel there is great potential for these species.

That's a good question. I don't know offhand the answer or where to look. Coccinia grandis, which goes by the common name tindora, has edible tubers. I think there are a fair number of gardenweb people who grow this plant, and you should be able to track down cuttings. My memory is that Coccinia quinqueloba tubers are edible, but need special preparation to be eaten. They are also considered a "famine food", not normally eaten, except when the alternative is starvation. Presumably there's a reason for this.

Some of the Coccinia species are South African, including Coccinia quinqueloba. I have found the people at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens to be very knowledgeable and helpful. I think there's a site that gives info about asking them questions, but I don't know what it is offhand. I suspect someone there could either answer your question or point you in the right direction.

Dear Mark,

Did you save any seed or was this variety only of one gender (male or female)? Do you still grow this plant? I have seed of Coccinia grandis, though I would prefer trying out another variety for food, such as the C. quinqueloba or the C. abyssinica before trying to grow the C. grandis for food.

I did find a source of C. abyssinica seed, but I would prefer to try some other varieties first, if anyone in the U.S. has some for trade. A local Asian woman who provided me with the C. Grandis seeds noted that the roots are not that good of quality for eating. This woman told me that she cooks the leaves (perhaps in tea) to help with constipation and does not even bother with the fruit. I love the look of the Coccinia seeds and can only imagine, based on the native plants that grow here in Southern Arizona, that this variety would do very well here.

Yeah, this species is dioecious. I just had the male plant, and lost it to rot one winter.

Helping with constipation sounds like a suspicious quality....

I think I've found a way to make my millions - succulent curcurbit diet tea, but I'm going to have to work on that bit about the twenty times a day one needs the facilities.

Haha you two. That is what she said. She grew a ton of eggplants, tomatoes, sugarcane, peanuts, and all sorts of tropical or subtropical plants. She since moved, but she was a great gardening friend of mine.

I think the Coccinia grandis plant she planted along the concrete driveway continues to come back every summer. I love the drumstick shape of the seeds.