''Ampelosicyos'' is a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s belonging to the family

Cucurbitaceae The Cucurbitaceae (), also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family (biology), family consisting of about 965 species in 101 genera.

. It is native to Madagascar. The genus name of ''Ampelosicyos'' is in honour of

Ampelos Ampelos (, lit."Vine") or Ampelus (Latin) was a personification of the grapevine and lover of Dionysus in Greek and Bacchus in Roman mythology. He was a satyr that either turned into a constellation or the grape vine, due to Dionysus. Mytholog ...

, who was the personification of the grapevine and lover of

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these representations, and to th ...

. It was first described and published in Hist. Vég. Îsles Austral. Afriq. on page 68 in 1808.

Species known

As accepted by

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

: *'' Ampelosicyos bosseri'' *'' Ampelosicyos humblotii'' *'' Ampelosicyos leandrii'' *'' Ampelosicyos major'' *'' Ampelosicyos meridionalis'' *'' Ampelosicyos scandens''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q8197741 Cucurbitaceae Cucurbitaceae genera Plants described in 1808 Endemic flora of Madagascar