What is a !nara?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
January 29, 2004
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
Suggested Reading: Click here.
The Namib Desert lies on the west coast of Africa against the cold waters of the South Atlantic. It seldom rains in the Namib; the plants make do with fog that rolls in from the sea or tap into the river systems that flow under the sands. The !nara* (Acanthosicyos horridus Welwitsch ex J.D. Hooker) is a melon; the genus designation is built of the Greek akanthos, meaning a thorny plant and sikyos, a gourd or melon. This cucurbit is supremely adapted
to life in the Namib.
Seeds of this melon only germinate when the Namib receives a rain. The !nara shrub survives by sending roots several meters down to the water table. The long arching branches are green and photosynthesize, replacing the role of leaves and reducing water loss to evaporation. The tangled branches trap sand; older plants are found emerging from dune-seas, the original level of the plant long buried.
The !nara are perennial, dioecious shrubs; staminate and pistillate flowers are borne on separate plants. Male and female plants often grow in close proximity. The fruit of a cucurbit is a berry properly called a pepo; the !nara melon develops on arching stems above the hot sand. The pepo is spiny and until it is fully ripe, contains bitter chemicals called cucurbitacins.
Once the fruit is ripe, the flesh turns orange and sweet. The melon is high in protein, unsaturated fatty acids, and water; the seeds and flesh are invaluable foods to both wildlife and peoples of the Namib. According to A.B. Cunningham, extended family groups known as !hao-!nas, inherit legal rights to collect !nara melons from specified patches of the thorny shrubs.
(Compiled from: "Cucurbit Resources in Namibia", Vassilios Sarafis, Perspectives on New Crops and New Uses, ASHS Press, Alexandria, VA, 1999 and "Review of Ethnobotanical Literature from Eastern and Southern Africa", A.B. Cunningham, People and Plants Online, Royal Botanic Garden, Kew)
* In the language of the Topnaar, the "!" represents a click of the tongue as part of the word.
Peter v. Sengbusch with the Faculty of Biology, University of Hamburg has posted several wonderful photographs of the !nara. To view his photographs, click on the link:
http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/afrika/botany/nara.htm
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~
Suggested Reading:
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