- For the morning glory called "manroot", see Wild Potato Vine
The
manroots,
wild cucumbers, or
cucumber gourd (
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
Marah) are flowering plants in the gourd
familyIn biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus...
(
CucurbitaceaeCucurbitaceae is a plant family commonly known as melons, gourds or cucurbits and includes crops like cucumbers, squashes , luffas, melons and watermelons...
), native to western
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
. They are also commonly called
Old man in the ground. The genus name comes from Hebrew מָרָ֔א (
mara, "bitter" - e.g.
- For the morning glory called "manroot", see Wild Potato Vine
The
manroots,
wild cucumbers, or
cucumber gourd (
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
Marah) are flowering plants in the gourd
familyIn biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus...
(
CucurbitaceaeCucurbitaceae is a plant family commonly known as melons, gourds or cucurbits and includes crops like cucumbers, squashes , luffas, melons and watermelons...
), native to western
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
. They are also commonly called
Old man in the ground. The genus name comes from Hebrew מָרָ֔א (
mara, "bitter" - e.g. ), and was given because all parts of these plants tend to have a bitter taste.
Except for the isolated range of the Gila Manroot (
M. gilensis) in west-central
ArizonaThe State of Arizona is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix. The second largest city is Tucson, followed in size by the four Phoenix metropolitan area cities of Mesa, Glendale, Chandler, and Scottsdale.Arizona was the 48th and...
and island populations (M. macrocarpus var. major), all manroot species inhabit overlapping ranges distributed from Southern
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to Northern
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Although
Coastal ManrootThe Oregon Manroot or Coastal Manroot, Marah oregonus, is a common manroot of northern west coast of the U.S.. It ranges from California north to Canada.-Foliage:...
(
M. oreganus) extends inland into
IdahoIdaho is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans." Idaho was admitted to the Union on 3 July 1890 as the 43rd state....
, all other manroot species except
M. gilensis are confined to areas within 300km of the
Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and...
coast.
Description
The manroots are
perennial plantA perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. When used by gardeners or horticulturalists, this term applies specifically to perennial herbaceous plants...
s, growing from a large tuberous root. Most have stout, scabrous or hairy stems, with coiling tendrils that enable them to climb up other plants; they can also grow rapidly across level ground. Their leaves tend to have multiple lobes, up to 7 in some species. The fruits are striking and easily recognised. They are large, and spherical, oval or cylindrical. At a minimum they are 3 cm in diameter, but can be up to 20 cm long, and in many species they are covered in long spines. Both leaf and fruit shape vary widely between individual plants and leaves can be particularly variable even on the same vine.
The anthropomorphic common names "manroot" and "old man" derive from the swollen lobes and arm-like extensions of the unearthed tuber. On old plants, the tuber can be several meters long and weigh in excess of 100
kgThe kilogram is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units .[The spelling kilogram is the modern spelling used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures , the U.S...]
.
Taxonomy and systematics
Marah species hybridize freely where ranges overlap and this, in addition to intra-species leaf and fruit variability, makes definite identification of specimens a particular challenge.
A proper genetic analysis of marah phylogeny has not yet been undertaken. The standard taxonomy has been based on morphological comparisons and geographic considerations.
Some authors include the manroots in genus
EchinocystisEchinocystis is a genus in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae which includesthe species Echinocystis lobata, commonly called wild cucumberor prickly cucumber.Some authors include the manroots in Echinocystis....
. Considered as a separate genus, however, it includes six or seven species, some of them with well-defined varieties within them:
- California Manroot
The California Manroot or Bigroot, Marah fabaceus, is the most common of the manroot species native to California. Its range throughout the state subsumes nearly the entire ranges of all the other California native manroots species and intergrades...
, Marah fabaceus
- Marah fabaceus var. agrestis
- Marah fabaceus var. fabaceus
- Gila Manroot, Marah gilensis
- Marah guadalupensis - often included in M. macrocarpus var. major
- Sierra Manroot, Marah horridus
Marah horridus is a species of flowering plant in the gourd family known by the common name Sierra manroot. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. This is a perennial herb growing from a large, branched tuber. It produces a climbing stem with tendrils and...
- Cucamonga Manroot, Marah macrocarpus
- Marah macrocarpus var. macrocarpus
- Marah macrocarpus var. major
- Marah macrocarpus var. micranthus
- Coastal Manroot
The Oregon Manroot or Coastal Manroot, Marah oregonus, is a common manroot of northern west coast of the U.S.. It ranges from California north to Canada.-Foliage:...
, Marah oreganus
- Taw Manroot
The Taw Manroot, Marah watsonii, is an uncommon manroot of central northern California. Its range is bounded by the eastern coastal foothills, the western foothills of the northern Sierra Nevada and Cascades ranges and from Lake Berryessa in the south to Lake Shasta in the north.-Foliage:Taw...
, Marah watsonii
Use by humans
Marah oreganus was used by
Native AmericansThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples...
for various problems. The Chinook made a poultice from the gourd. The Squaxin mashed the upper stalk in water to dip aching hands. The
ChehalisChehalis, in the language of the U.S. Native American tribe of the same name, means "sand". In the language of the Chehalis First Nation of British Columbia, Canada, the original term is Sts'Ailes, meaning "beating heart".It can refer to:...
burned the root and mixed the resulting powder with
bearBears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
grease to apply to
scrofulaScrofula is any of a variety of skin diseases; in particular, a form of tuberculosis, affecting the lymph nodes of the neck. It is often informally or historically known as the King's Evil, referring to the belief that sufferers would be cured by the touch of the Monarch, a practice which...
sores. The
Coast SalishCoast Salish languages are a subgroup of the Salishan language family. These languages are spoken by First Nations or Native American peoples inhabiting the territory that is now the southwest coast of British Columbia around the Georgia Strait and the state of Washington around Puget Sound...
made a decoction to treat venereal disease, kidney trouble and scrofula sores.
Tubers of
marah fabaceus were crushed and thrown into bodies of water by the
KumeyaayThe Kumeyaay, also known as the Diegueño, are Native American people of the extreme southwestern United States and northwest Mexico. They live in the states of California and Baja California . In Spanish, the name is commonly spelled kumiai.-Divisions and language:Historically, the Kumeyaay have...
to immobilize fish. The tubers contain megharrhin, a
saponinSaponins are a class of chemical compounds, one of many secondary metabolites found in natural sources, with saponins found in particular abundance in various plant species...
-like
glucosideA glucoside is a glycoside that is derived from glucose. Glucosides are common in plants, but rare in animals. Glucose is produced when a glucoside is hydrolysed by purely chemical means, or decomposed by fermentation or enzymes....
. Saponins lower the
surface tensionSurface tension is a property of the surface of a liquid. It is what causes the surface portion of liquid to be attracted to another surface, such as that of another portion of liquid .Applying Newtonian physics to the forces that arise due to surface tension accurately predicts many liquid behaviors...
of water allowing the formation of bubbles. It is likely that the substance enters the fish's circulation through the gill arches where only a single-cell
epitheliumIn biology and medicine, an epithelium is a tissue composed of cells that line the cavities and surfaces of structures throughout the body. Many glands are also formed from epithelial tissue...
separates the water from the animal’s red blood cells. The affected fish float to the surface (Bjenning 2005).
Like many medicinal plants, at least some
Marah species are toxic if ingested and deaths have been reported from ingesting them.
Seeds of
Marah fabaceus have been reported as being hallucinogenic. The tubers of
M. fabaceus and
M. macrocarpus contain
saponinSaponins are a class of chemical compounds, one of many secondary metabolites found in natural sources, with saponins found in particular abundance in various plant species...
s which can act as a natural soap.
External links