When I spotted the Horned Melon … with names like African Horned Cucumber, Jelly Melon, or even Kiwano … so named by those down under in NZ – it looks to some extent like a kiwi … a prickly one, I'd guess …
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African Horned Cucumber |
... I thought of Jacqui and her prehistoric fiction … so here's another useful plant – should you ever find yourself stranded in the Kalahari or Namib deserts and need a drink …?!
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Paleo Makgadikgadi Lake in pre-historic times |
It apparently has plenty of useful benefits … so I've included a link below to those suggestions – I do like the way they've summarised each one … but honestly do we need to be told to cut off the spikes before snacking on the peel?!
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Illustration found inside the book - which highlights where subjects may be found |
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This is the book I refer to |
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Female flower on the vine |
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Awaiting the sun to ripen the fruit |
Anyway perhaps natural selection will take to weeding the human race?!
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Namib - Sand and Sea |
Healthline on the Kiwano melon - benefits
Savage Land - my post for Jacqui
The presumed maximum extent of the Paleo Makgadikgadi Lake in early Pleistocene and the course of the rivers in the early to middle Cenozoic - website here ...
Hilary Melton-Butcher
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