''Cayaponia'' is among the largest genera in the

gourd Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly '' Cucurbita'' and '' Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. Many gourds ha ...

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.

, with 74 species. The plants are referred to as melonleaf. They are common from the

southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

to South America. Some species are also found in

western Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Ma ...

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

, and

Fernando de Noronha Fernando de Noronha (), officially the State District of Fernando de Noronha () and formerly known as the Federal Territory of Fernando de Noronha () until 1988, is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, and ...

, which is about off the coast of Brazil. Most species are found in

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

s and have white or yellow-green flowers. The ancestral mode of pollination in ''Cayaponia'' was inferred as pollinated by bats, but at least two shifts to bee pollination are inferred among some of its species. This is apparently the first

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

to shift from bat to bee pollination vice bee to bat pollination. A 2011 phylogenetioc study placed the genus '' Selysia'' under this genus. Brazilian botanist António Luiz Patricio da Silva Manso named this genus after the indigenous Cayapo people of Brazil.

Species

74 species are accepted. *'' Cayaponia africana'' (Hook.f.) Exell *'' Cayaponia alarici'' M. Porto *'' Cayaponia amazonica'' (Poepp. & Endl.) Cogn. *'' Cayaponia americana'' (Lam.) Cogn. *'' Cayaponia angustiloba'' (Cogn.) Cogn. *'' Cayaponia attenuata'' (Hook. & Arn.) Cogn. *'' Cayaponia biflora'' Cogn. ex Harms *''

Cayaponia boliviensis ''Cayaponia'' is among the largest genera in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae, with 74 species. The plants are referred to as melonleaf. They are common from the southern United States to South America. Some species are also found in western Afric ...

'' Cogn. *''

Cayaponia bonariensis ''Cayaponia'' is among the largest genera in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae, with 74 species. The plants are referred to as melonleaf. They are common from the southern United States to South America. Some species are also found in western Afric ...

'' (Mill.) Mart. *''

Cayaponia bonplandii ''Cayaponia'' is among the largest genera in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae, with 74 species. The plants are referred to as melonleaf. They are common from the southern United States to South America. Some species are also found in western Afric ...

'' (Cogn.) Cogn. *''

Cayaponia botryocarpa ''Cayaponia'' is among the largest genera in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae, with 74 species. The plants are referred to as melonleaf. They are common from the southern United States to South America. Some species are also found in western Afric ...

'' C. Jeffrey *'' Cayaponia breviloba'' (Griseb. ex Cogn.) Pozner *'' Cayaponia buraeavii'' Cogn. *'' Cayaponia cabocla'' (Vell.) Mart. *'' Cayaponia capitata'' Cogn. ex Harms *'' Cayaponia caulobotrys'' C.Jeffrey *'' Cayaponia citrullifolia'' (Griseb.) Cogn. ex Griseb. *'' Cayaponia cogniauxiana'' Gomes-Klein *'' Cayaponia coriacea'' Cogn. *'' Cayaponia cruegeri'' (Naudin) Cogn. *'' Cayaponia denticulata'' Killip ex C.Jeffrey *'' Cayaponia diversifolia'' Cogn. *'' Cayaponia domingensis'' (Cogn.) H.Schaef. & M.Nee *'' Cayaponia duckei'' Harms *''

Cayaponia espelina ''Cayaponia espelina'', also known as the São Caetano melon, is a plant native to Brazil. It is a diuretic and aids in the treatment of diarrhea and syphilis. The fruits are occasionally eaten by the maned wolf (''Chrysocyon brachyurus The ma ...

Cayaponia tayuya ''Cayaponia tayuya'' (tayuya or taiuiá) is a vine that grows in the Amazon region of South America, in the nations of Brazil, Bolivia and Peru. Its roots are used in herbal medicine. Studies in rodent models have shown that several cucurbita ...

'' (Vell.) Cogn. *'' Cayaponia ternata'' (Vell.) Cogn. *'' Cayaponia tessmannii'' Harms *'' Cayaponia tibiricae'' (Naudin) Cogn. *'' Cayaponia triangularis'' (Cogn.) Cogn. *'' Cayaponia trifoliata'' (Cogn.) Cogn. *'' Cayaponia trilobata'' Cogn. *'' Cayaponia tubulosa'' Cogn. *'' Cayaponia ulei'' Cogn. ex Harms *'' Cayaponia villosissima'' Cogn. *'' Cayaponia weddellii'' (Naudin) Cogn.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4269007 Cucurbitaceae genera