Sechium edule

Climber

HomeClimberSechium edule

Moist, steep hillsides.

Family: Cucurbitaceae
Height: 12 m / 40 ft
Sun, Semi-shade
Light, Medium and Heavy Soil
Moist

Plant Rating

Edible Uses: 4 of 5
Medicinal Uses: 2 of 5
Other Uses: 3 of 5

Native Habitat

Chayote, Mirliton, Cho Ko, Cho-Cho, Vegetable Pear Sechium edule native habitat is Moist, steep hillsides.

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked. The fruits can vary in flavour, from bland or starchy to sweetish, depending on the cultivar. They can be boiled or baked as a vegetable. They can be mixed with lime juice and used as a substitute for apples in pies. Fruits of bland cultivars are used industrially as food fillers for pastes and sauces. Because of their low energy value, the fruits are gaining importance as a dietary food in hospitals and nursing homes, and are also considered good baby food. The fruit is normally used when immature and before the seed has enlarged. The obovoid fruit is up to 18cm long. Seed - cooked. Nut-like in flavour. The mature, protruding seeds are considered by some to be the best part of this fruit. When deep-fried they taste remarkably like french-fried potatoes. The seeds are a good source of protein. Tuber - raw or cooked. They are boiled, baked, fried and candied in syrup. The starch-rich tuber can weigh up to 5 kilos. Young leaves and stem tips - cooked as a vegetable. Eaten like asparagus. A good source of iron, carotene, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin. Flowers.