Ethnobotany of Telfairia occidentalis (Cucurbitaceae) among Igbos of NigeriaAuthor(s): M. O. AkorodaReviewed work(s):Source: Economic Botany, Vol. 44, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1990), pp. 29-39Published by: Springer on behalf of New York Botanical Garden PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4255209 .Accessed: 03/03/2012 14:14

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Ethnobotany of Telfairia occidentalis (Cucurbitaceae) among Igbos of Nigeria1

M. 0. AKORODA2

The fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis), an important cucurbitaceous leaf and seed vegetable, is indigenous to the west tropical rain forest area from Bendel to Cross Rivers states of Nigeria (c. longitude 7°-8°E and latitude 50-60N). Though endemic to southeastern Nigeria, Telfairia is of local ethnobotanical importance in the folklore and the dietary and cropping systems of Igbos and their neighbours. There is no reported definitive ethnobotanical study relating to this cucurbit. Tel- fairia has long been important in the internal food trade of Igbos. Like other leaf vegetables, it is of low commerical value, but can in some cases provide an appre- ciable cash income to small farm families. Its leaves, succulent shoots, and seed kernels constitute the usual ingredients that are popular and regularly consumed in Igbo soups. Soups made of leaf vegetables are essentialfor consumption of starchy pastes of yam, cassava, or cocoyam, which are frequently consumed in the humid areas of Nigeria. Many good attributes account for the increasing importance of this chief vegetable among 30-35 million people in Nigeria.

From 1980 through 1987, I studied the fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis Hook. f., Cucurbitaceae) with respect to field production, socio-cultural aspects of its history, and use among the Igbos. Six mo stay in Imo state and 2 mo in Rivers state convinced me of the importance of this crop. Literature search showed a scantiness disproportionate with the species' general importance in food and nutrition. Ethnic groups who traditionally use Telfairia comprise Igbo, Efik, Ibibio, Urhobo, Ika, Aboh, Edo, and Isoko, which together number 30-35 million in Nigeria. Although some agronomic studies have been done on the crop, including diseases and food chemistry, ethnobotanic studies are yet to be made. As a step towards providing a body of information on local knowledge on the crop, this paper considers the past and present association of people with the crop among Igbos, who form the largest ethnic group among all its users and cultivators.

This paper examines materials gathered from interviews, sources of oral history, recent scientific studies, folklore, and other written sources or through personal communications.

BOTANY AND CULTIVATION

Telfairia, well known in southern Nigeria as a leaf and seed vegetable, is called "ugu" in Igbo, "iroko" or "apiroko" in Yoruba, "ubong" in Efik, "umee" in Urhobo, and "umeke" in Edo. Other groups use the crop to a lesser extent. Telfairia occidentalis is a facultative perennial when grown on well-drained soils, slightly shaded and mulched, but not so on soggy soils and in sunlit spots. In Igboland, the crop is typically grown on poor soils as an annual between March and November. Dry season (November-March) crops are also grown near water

' Received 20 April 1988; accepted 20 October 1988. 2 Plant Breeding Laboratory, Agronomy Department, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

Economic Botany, 44(1), 1990, pp. 29-39 © 1990, by the New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458

ECONOMIC BOTANY

sources or under irrigation. Plants are allowed to creep or are staked onto a framework of bamboo. Leaves and young shoots (up to 50 cm long) are first harvested for food after a month, and later every 2-4 wk. Shoot harvest stops only on female plants when they initiate floral buds. Fruits are formed and are harvested immature for their edible seed kernels. Viable seeds are usually obtained from mature fruits after shoot senescence.

Telfairia is cultivated mainly as a garden crop. It would appear that it is endemic to the Igbo heartland in Imo and Anambra states as well as parts of Rivers, Bendel, and Cross River states, but migration of these people has lead to a more widespread distribution into other areas of Nigeria (Fig. 1). Traditionally, the Igbos inhabit southeastern Nigeria within longitudes 7°-8° E and latitudes 5°-6° N. This area is rain forest to the southern part and extends into the derived savanna zone in the northern areas covering over 41,000 square kilometers (Ifemesia 1979). Farm- ing is a primary occupation for many. In 1955, farm plots were commonly around 0.1 ha, although a 1985 survey estimated a modal plot size of 0.5 ha (Morgan 1955; Walker 1985). Farms in or near compounds have many medicinal, fruit, spice, and vegetable crop species closely grown in what resembles a live germplasm of species, whose products are more frequently required, albeit in small quantities.

Yams monopolize the attention of men in farming activities, but tree crops are also grown. Women are, however, the chief producers of leaf and fruit vegetables, cassava, maize, cocoyam, beans, groundnut, pumpkins, calabash, melons, okra, chillies, and peppers (Floyd 1969). These crops are planted among yam plants (Uchendu 1965). As one woman succinctly declared: Telfairia is to women, what yam is to men in Igboland. This assertion is supported by its widespread culti- vation in compound farms-an almost exclusive domain of womenfolk. Of 146 plant species found in compound farms in Imo and Anambra states in 1985, Telfairia, Vernonia, Pterocarpus spp., and Cucurbita spp. were the most frequent leaf vegetables (Walker 1985).

Presently, Telfairia cultivation has spread to areas of Nigeria where Igbos and their neighbours in southern Nigeria have settled. Strong association of Igbos with Telfairia cultivation has earned the crop the name "Igbo vegetable" in some localities. The species is rarely monocropped in large fields except in market gardens near large urban areas. Mature fruits store well for months. Seeds are planted directly in soil, usually in groups of three to compensate if some seeds fail to emerge. Because the seeds are recalcitrant (Akoroda 1986), long transport is usually in the form of mature fruits.

IMPORTANCE AND NEGLECT

Vegetables are generally regarded as crops of minor or secondary importance. Thus a local popular vegetable such as Telfairia has suffered neglect (Okigbo 1977). Only few vegetables were mentioned by early explorers. As noted by Sai (1965): "Fruits and vegetables are not accorded the importance they deserve in the diet of West African people . . . and are hardly considered food. At best, they are prepared and accepted as a relish or a flavouring agent ... it is the basic [carbohydrate] staple which is considered 'food'."

The importance of the fluted pumpkin as a leaf vegetable is indirectly reflected in writings. Pounded yam is accorded the first place in Igbo food culture, but little regard is given to the vegetables always consumed with it. Achebe (1958) wrote:

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Fig. 1-2. Nigeria and Igboland, 1987. Fig. 1. Nigeria, showing Igboland and her neighbours. Igboland covers all of Anambra State (A), Imo State (I), shaded parts of Rivers State (R) to the east of River Niger, and black parts of Bendel State (B) to the West of the River Niger. C is Cross River

State. Fig. 2. Igboheartland east of the River Niger, showing the distribution of population in the old

administrative divisions of eastern Nigeria in 1954 containing the bulk of Igbos (Morgan 1955). Persons per square kilometer: 8-70 (plain); 99-170 (dotted); and 200-337 (shaded). 1, Nsukka; 2, Onitsha; 3, Awka; 4, Udi; 5, Abakaliki; 6, Awgu; 7, Afikpo; 8, Orlu; 9, Okigwi; 10, Bende; 11, Ahoada; 12, Owerri; and 13, Aba. Discontinuous line marks the approximate boundary of the Guinean forest to the south (where Telfairia thrives) and the derived savanna dry forest to the north.

The feast of the New yam ... was an occasion for giving thanks to Ani, the earth goddess and source of all fertility. Ani played a greater part in the life of the people than any other deity ... The feast.. . was held every year before the [yam] harvest began ... Yam foofoo and vegetable soup was the chief food in the celebration. So much of it was cooked (for the yam feast) that no matter how heavily the family ate or how many friends and relatives they invited from neigh- bouring villages, there was always a huge quantity of food left over at the end of the day.

This picture of the amount of pounded yam consumed alludes to a need for large quantities of leaf vegetables used for preparing soup. What production systems could supply such quantities of leaves around October-November when yams mature? Supposedly, vegetables in compound farms can, especially longer dura- tion types like Telfairia and Vernonia.

Although Telfairia is one of the most important indigenous vegetables, its ethnobotanical importance is buried in the sands of time. Writings of foreign botanists give only scanty information on indigenous food plants of this kind. For example, Talbot (1967) observed in 1914-1916 that "Of Ibo industries and interests, farming is far and away the chief. Practically the whole life and thought of the people centred around the crops," yet he accorded little attention to Igbo agriculture in his writings. More recently, Okigbo (1980) detailed these aspects in his Plants and food in Igbo culture, where he considered the crop to be indigenous to Igboland.

HISTORICAL ORIGINS AND SPREAD

The early introduction of Telfairia into the southeastern Nigeria area is unlikely. It rather appears to be indigenous to the area. First, Europeans (Portuguese)

31 1990]

ECONOMIC BOTANY

entered the area in 1472 or later (Isichei 1976). Telfairia is a tropical crop and these explorers could not have brought it from Portugal. Second, no West African country en route from Portugal had or now has any known culture of Telfairia.

From 1472, when Europeans reached Igboland, to 1871, when the crop was described by Hooker (Oliver 1871), represents 400 yr. In this interval, records on African crops were few. More recent geography of cultivation shows an intense

Telfairia culture in the land stretching from Owerri to Umuahia and Ikwuano, which adjoins the Ibibio area of the Cross River state. Here, the Igbos have separate names for the seed-ohi-and for the whole plant- ugu (Burkill 1985). In my view, this linguistic distinction connotes an antiquity of Igbo association with the crop.

The earliest reference to Telfairia (Oliver 1871) recorded its presence in Upper Guinea areas of Sierra Leone, Fernando Po, and Abeokuta (Nigeria), areas with historic links to Igbos. This was so with Sierra Leone by way of the post-slave- trade relations, whereas Fernando Po had received emigrants from land-deficient areas of Igboland. Abeokuta is not far from Lagos, which had a significant number of Igbos. By 1951, Lagos had 31,887 Igbos-45% of non-Yoruba Lagosians (Isichei 1976). Thus, the introduction of Telfairia to Lagos and its hinterland was a possibility. A more recent reference (Keay 1954) observed Telfairia only in towns of southern Nigeria: Lagos, Abeokuta, Sapoba, Obuampa, and Calabar. These fall mainly within the southern fringe of the rain forest, more exactly in the freshwater zone. In all, Telfairia is a crop of Guinean humid areas of Nigeria, where the early presence of Igbos was evident.

Igbos are cultivators and spread Telfairia as they dispersed. As they moved either to exploit advantages in new lands, or due to high population pressure (Fig. 2) on scarce land (Talbot and Mulhall 1962), vegetable crop seeds were taken along with them. Nowhere in Igboland do we encounter primary virgin forests. Every parcel of land has been overtly disturbed by hunting, burning, farming, shrine for rituals, and/or human settlement. The main expansion of Igbos was southward, southeastward, and eastward to the Cross River. Igboland had strong trade connections with the Atlantic coast. Umuahia-Ibeku market (96 km from the coast) is generally known as Ogwumabiri, a Kalabari word for market (Ukwu 1969). Kalabaris are coastal tribes of Niger Delta creeks. Telfairia could also have spread in this direction and both ways along the bights of Benin and Biafra.

Telfairia is not known to occur wild. Claims of "bush" types have been asso- ciated with abandoned settlements. Farmers grow many landraces that have not undergone systematic breeding (Fig. 3). Panmitic crosses would therefore be the major cause of diversity in the germplasm. Igbo agroecology is only slightly vari- able, less so among compound gardens where most vegetables are grown. But the isolatedness of compound gardens and between plants in field plots also creates situations that restrict crossing (Purseglove 1965). The limited variability among present-day morphotypes also aligns with Stebbin's (1950) view that an invariable environment retards evolutionary change in crop plants.

Telfairia produces leaves for long periods, and is preferred to short season leaf vegetables such as Amaranthus spp., which are rarely harvested more than three times in the life of the plant. Moreover, Telfairia ratoons in well-drained soils although the degree varies with field culture and crop growth conditions. Vernonia, perennial, produces much foliage but requires considerable labour of women and

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children in maceration and washing of leaves before inclusion in soups. It is sometimes said that " Vernonia soup is not for the have-nots" because it requires more ingredients and condiments to achieve a sufficiently tasty soup than is the case with other leaf vegetables. Telfairia requires only slight processing before use.

My experience from travels in Igboland shows more Telfairia in Imo state than elsewhere. The consensus among a dozen knowledgeable agricultural scientists of Igbo origin working in Igboland also indicates that Telfairia culture and use are much more intense in the Guinean humid zone of Imo state than in Anambra state, where Vernonia leaf is more preferred.

Ma Onwujo Oranye from Onitsha in Anambra state, who was 103 years old in 1985, clearly recalled that "Telfairia is not indigenous to Onitsha." She definitely never encountered Telfairia in her youth. She does not eat soup with Telfairia, which she derogatively refers to as ugbalu ofo (=new introduction or new arrival). As the major settlement at Onitsha occurred around 1500-1600 (Ifemesia 1979), it is probable that Telfairia culture spread to Onitsha from the more southern interior of Igboland. Prof. B. N. Okigbo (pers. comm. 1987) believes that Telfairia was first used for its seeds in northern Anambra and is now commonly used in southern parts of Anambra state around Awgu and Maku-Nenwe. An Igbo agron- omist from Anambra state, Mrs. V. N. Nzegwu (pers. comm. 1987), maintained that Telfairia culture is most intense around Owerri, Mbaise, and Okigwi areas of the old Owerri province, which today covers all of Imo state. The crop is less intense in Orlu and Nkwerre areas of northern Imo state that border Anambra state (Fig. 2). The exotic nature of Telfairia to Anambra state is also implied by Okafor (1979). Some informants claim that Telfairia originated from Owerri, where the seed is called ohi (Nwinyi, pers. comm. 1987).

UTILIZATION

The chief use of Telfairia among Igbos is for food: either as leaf, shoot, or seeds. Less fibrous shoots and leaves are mixed, cut or shredded, and included in soups along with some form of dried fish, palm oil, peppers, ground seeds of egusi melon (Colocynthis vulgaris Schrad.) with or without any other leafy vegetables. Ac- cording to Oyolu (1978), leaves and edible shoots together contain 85% moisture; and the dry portion of what is usually consumed contains 11% crude protein, 25% carbohydrates, 3% oils, 11% ash, and as much as 700 ppm of iron. This high level of iron seems to provide a basis for the folklore that Telfairia leaf extract is administered as a blood tonic to convalescent persons. Soups may be thickened with Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott or Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench and salted. This type of soup is eaten with starchy dough, the most important being pounded yam. Cassava foofoo (akpu) or eba (garri dough) are also used. This combination constitutes a staple diet among Igbos, although slightly modified between localities-basically a tasty soup and a starch dough derived from a root crop. The bland taste of plain carbohydrate foods makes them more acceptable when consumed with such soups. The popularity and local esteem of the soup varies with ingredients and the particular method of concoction.

The amount of Telfairia leaf or shoots utilized varies with the type of soup, taste of consumer, and the age (texture) of leaves available. Old shoots or leaves

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Fig. 3-8. Telfairia occidentalis. Fig. 3. A group of Telfairia plants on bamboo props showing an almost mature fruit 50 cm long characterized by a white coat of waxy bloom which wears off as the fruit attains full maturity; the white male flower spikes are also present, but some have fallen to the ground. Fig. 4. A man "weight-lifting" a giant fruit of Telfairia: 95 cm long, 18 kg, with 106 seeds each weighing 35 g. Fig. 5. Transport of 45 fruits of Telfairia by wheelbarrow to market, the raised fruit costs N5 (Nigerian naira = US $ in 1985). Fig. 6. A retailer (but not a grower of Telfairia for 10

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are more fibrous, but are usually mixed with younger shoots to obtain the desired blend of texture. Of 24 crops species with edible leaves or shoots regularly utilized by Igbos (Okigbo 1980), Telfairia is most commonly used in terms of quantity consumed per meal and the frequency of meals in which it is included. Around Owerri, a popular traditional soup called ofe owerri (soup of Owerri) is thickened with Telfairia leaves and shoots. This soup is a constant in the menu of food shops and prestigious restaurants in Igboland, more so in Imo State than in Anambra State.

Many Igbos prefer slightly blanched leaves to those overcooked and soft tex- tured. Slight local variations in the use and combination of various leaf vegetables are common. For example, Ngwa-Igbos use Telfairia in most meals, either alone or together with okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench), ground kernels of Ogbono (Irvingia gabonensis Baill.), egusi-melon, and achara shoots (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.). For special occasions-as when a woman gives birth or when a wife seeks the special favours of a husband- Telfairia is combined with Vernonia leaf, oha (Pterocarpus soyauxii Taub), okazi (Gnetum africanum Linn.), and ugba (Pentaclethra macrophylla Benth.).

Mature fruits provide seeds for planting (Fig. 4). For food, seeds are preferred when extracted from fruits just before they mature (Fig. 5). Such seeds are cleaned, boiled with the testa for 30-60 min, decanted, and shelled; the fleshy cotyledons are usually eaten as snacks or ground for inclusion in soup. Before being used, mature seeds are washed free of dye around the seed coat. These could be con- sumed in a similar way, but are less tasty. To flavour soups, boiled seed cotyledons are wrapped with plantain leaves and left to ferment in a warm place for 3 da. The resulting mass, called ogiri, is mashed and used for seasoning soups and other foods. Ogiri preserves well when wrapped in dry plantain leaves and sundried; and better still when such wraps are stored in wire baskets hung above the fireplace in the kitchen. Usually, ogiri-ugu from Telfairia is only a substitute for the more preferred ogiri-ugba from castor-bean seeds (Ricinus communis L.) or ogiri-okpi from locust-bean seeds (Parkia clappertoniana Keay). On average, 100 g of Tel- fairia seed kernel contains 27% crude protein, 3% fibre, 53% oils, 15% carbo- hydrates, and 2% ash; iron is the most abundant among the trace mineral elements (Longe et al. 1983).

Roots of Telfairia are locally known to be a potent human poison. Extracts of roots contain resin, alkaloids, and saponin and have been shown to be lethal to rats and mice (Akubue et al. 1980).

TRADE AND COMMERCE

Edible shoots (Fig. 6) are a more common economic commodity from Telfairia rather than its fruits and seeds. The quantity and freshness of shoots recovered from a crop depends on season and crop growth condition and varies with locality. Usually, price fluctuation is small, and the demand for shoots rather inelastic.

yr) and her daughter carrying bundles of shoots, which yield profits of 40% of purchase cost. Fig. 7. Women harvesting tender edible shoots of Telfairia from a backyard garden, where small sticks support climbing plants. Fig. 8. A 1.5 m high bamboo framework in a commercial farm of Telfairia.

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Cut shoots are sold wholesale to persons who retail them in smaller bundles. Large bundles are wrapped with plantain leaves and/or loosely covered with old jute or kenaf sac cloth, and sparingly watered to preserve freshness. In this way, they can withstand transport to markets, where they are disaggregated into smaller units for sale.

Major markets are held every 8 da from 1000 till 1700. Smaller markets convene every 4 da and last for about 3 h (0800-1100 or 1400-1700 or 1600-1900). Of 56 rural communities in Igboland, Ukwu (1969) found that the average marketer visited four markets, which averaged 10 km away from home. For example, the largest rural market in southeastern Nigeria in 1962-1964 was Umunakanu (a group of three villages), which attracted food surpluses from north and south of central Igbo Upland. It was economically poor with small fragmented farms, where fallows are also absent and had the highest population density in Igboland. Of 294 transactions in August 1963, vegetables accounted for 54 (18.4%) but only 9.2% of the total value of all transactions of 81.5 shillings. In all, 53 women and only 1 man sold vegetables. During the period, average value of each transaction in rural markets was less than 1 shilling for vegetables because most people grew some or all their needs of vegetables. Telfairia remained a principal leaf vegetable in these markets and was especially mentioned in some cases.

More recently, food crop markets have developed near urban centres. These markets still attract produce from the interior. A January 1987 survey of Ogbete market at Enugu in northern Igboland showed that many women specialize in the sale of edible shoots of Telfairia to earn cash for supplementing homekeeping money given by husbands. Overall, profits are in the order of 40% the cost of purchases. Relative frequency of leaf vegetables on sale were: Telfairia (18), Ama- ranthus caudatus Linn. (10), Vernonia amvodalina Del. (6), Corchorus olitorius L. (5), and Talinum triangulare Willd. (4). These frequencies change with the season, more so for shorter season types than for Telfairia and Vernonia. A similar survey at Idi-Ayunre and Agbowo areas of Ibadan in Oyo state revealed that Igbos (10 Imo, 2 Anambra, 1 Bendel) grow much Telfairia for home food (Fig. 7) as well as for cash (Fig. 8). Their monthly profits of N25-140-Nigerian naira = US $ (1985)-averaged N65 or 52% of the national minimum wage paid in the government service of Nigeria during 1985.

FOLKLORE

The ways and modes of culture are complex. But it is in such complexity that man exercises the diverse subtlety of his experience with time in a given habitat. Search for Igbo folklore on Telfairia has yielded little material. A woman from Ogidi in Anambra state informed us that a blood tonic extract is obtained from squeezing Telfairia leaf in water. This is administered to weak persons, such as those convalescing from malaria. This claim was affirmed by different Igbo elders.

Proverbs are part of the intricate linguistic culture of the Igbos. For Telfairia, much picturesque speech is yet to be encountered. Ila onu ka Ugu literally means "you are as breakable as the tip of ugu (Telfairia) vine" or may be rendered as "you are tender and fragile as Telfairia vine tip." This saying makes analogy to the ease with which the tip breaks. This alludes either to the lack of rigidity, or to a suppleness that depicts immaturity or inability to tolerate hardship or stress, or to someone not reliable or not dependable.

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A 42-year-old Igbo woman, who teaches in a secondary school, provided us with a folktale:

When mother was dying, I was only a child. Mother instructed me and her slave to follow the ugu vine. We trailed the vine, which led us on and on. At last, ugu led us to the house of my elder sister. While elder sister welcomed us, she mistook me for the slave. So I sing when sister is not at home: "When mother was dying, mother said: follow my ugu. Where ugu leads, you and my slave must follow. In obedience we heeded, till we reached here at last. O! my mother's daughter, O! my blood sister. You mistook the slave for me, and I for the slave, I am your youngest sister, your mother's last child." A neighbour at home, who heard this song, then told the elder sister when she returned. So it came to pass when elder sister left home again, she hid herself this time to hear my song, after which she realised her error and great mistake. Then she did recognise me as a true sister, not a slave.

In this tale, the crop symbolises luck, joy, and happiness. The crop climbs far with its long powerful vines and also supplies edible leaves for long periods, signifying that it can also be relied on for food for a long time.

The variety of peoples in Igboland is reflected by differing local reports on the crop. From Okpanam, in Oshimili area of Bendel state, Mr. G. E. Obanya, a 60- yr-old (in 1985) former curator of the agricultural crop garden at the University of Ibadan, stated that: "In former times, Telfairia was not eaten, for reasons of culture. It was forbidden. That was the law of the gods who control lightning and thunder. This belief, an old one, dates back before this century. This story was commonly told while I was a boy. Nowadays the crop is grown as a cash crop in the area for sale to strangers. This began when strangers, mainly Igbo migrants, started to settle in the town."

Mr. J. 0. Owasimba, a teacher at Okwe (a native of Oboro, Umuahia-Ikwuano area of Imo state), informed me that: "For a pregnant woman to pluck immature Telfairia fruit from the growing vine is akin to aborting a human life." It is believed that to do so is to invoke miscarriage and death of her own foetus. It seems this sanction was instituted to safeguard fruits, which should be left to mature so as to provide seeds for perpetuating the crop. Is this, perhaps, a relic of experience with genetic erosion of previously wild stands of Telfairia? Normally, the nour- ishing oily seeds of Telfairia are relished, as is commonly believed among lactating women in East Africa to promote milk flow (Poppleton 1939).

A contribution from Afikpo area of Imo state, by Ucha Nnachi (a rural extension agent for ILCA) informed me that: "For a woman to cut (to kill) the Telfairia plants of a mate is to commit abomination. A woman who does it must prepare to appease the goddess of the earth. If not, the particular field remains desecrated. That very field is regarded unfit for crops until the evil woman offers sacrifice." Similarly, a woman who harvests Telfairia from the farm of an absent neighbor without permission has done a great evil. Customarily, the old women, usually bent by age and using walking sticks, "visit" the home of the evil woman to demand her appeasement of the field. It is considered a serious affair. The scene of this "visit" is similar to that of a funeral ceremony. After proper sacrifices, they pray: "Let us not again witness more of such acts in our life times." This tale suggests that each adult female had to plant her own field of Telfairia. Lazy women had no place in this culture, for it is, on the whole, more costly to steal Telfairia vegetable from the field of a neighbour than to grow it. The incurred costs are loss of social honour as well as expenses associated with sacrifices for the full appeasement of the earth goddess, Ani. These bits of folklore imply that

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a strong Telfairia culture was present in Igboland agriculture for many generations, possibly before the coming of white men to the area. The origin of this culture is not known. Ucha Nnachi recounted, "It was told to our great fathers by their forebears. And passed down by oral tradition to their children, who did the same in succession till this day. Now, we know it as a law, not to be broken, but to be kept by all who seek the good of the land and all who depend on it for harvests. Who does not depend on the land? Everyone in the world lives from what the land gives."

GENERAL DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Telfairia is one of the most important leaf vegetables of the Igbos of Nigeria, particularly in the Guinean humid regions of Imo state. Evidence pieced together from crop geography, spread and intensity of use, oral history, and folklore suggests that the crop is most definitely indigenous to a stretch between Owerri-Umuahia- Ikwuano in Imo state. It is proposed for similar reasons to have originated in that same axis, where it is important in the olericulture of Igbo women. Whilst the leaves are relished as potherbs, the oil-rich seeds may perhaps be of greater potential as a source of unsaturated oils and proteineous cake. At present, diffi- culties of insufficient supply of seeds will restrict such a hope, except as research focuses on ways to guarantee increased production of fruits and seeds. This may be through intervention on the sexual processes of fruit and seed formation.

Igbos have continued to enjoy the crop. But unreliable seed production for a crop that is otherwise difficult to propagate vegetatively spells some danger as pests and diseases debilitate the crop. Other ethnic groups in areas where Igbos have migrated have begun to use the crop also. Thus, plans for more insightful research on the crop must be engendered and supported to reverse the neglect it received hitherto. The science of its reproductive biology is now receiving more attention, but a fuller exploitation of this crop will require more studies of its economics, whole plant physiology, and agronomy of monocrop farms besides what has been described in this paper.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To the people who read the first draft of this paper I am grateful for their useful comments, suggestions, and criticisms. Alphabetically they are: Dr. M. E. Aken'Ova (U.I.), Prof. J. K. Egunjobi (U.I.), Prof. R. I. Egwuatu (ASUTECH), Mrs. N. N. Ezumah (U.I.), Mrs. B. G. Herren (IITA), Dr. Mrs. Joyce Lowe (U.I.), Dr. Felix Anno-Nyako (NIHORT), Mrs. V. N. Nzegwu (U.I.), Prof. B. N. Okigbo (IITA), and Dr. G. E. Okoro (ISADEP). My paper especially benefited from the detailed discussions of its many aspects with Prof. Okigbo, who, with much interest on the subject, spared me much of his precious time. My doctoral supervisor, Professor Hemchand Ramji Chheda, was super- vised for his Ph.D. by the 1985 Distinguished Economic Botanist, Professor Jack Rodney Harlan. I have benefited greatly from this genealogy as well as from my "academic grandfather's" book Crops and man. I acknowledge with appreciation my student days with Mazi Dr. Aja Okorie and for the singular but significant act of December 1981 that helped to nurture this type of study. I thank Mrs. V. N. Nzegwu, Miss N. I. Ogbechie, and Miss N. Nweke for field work and diverse assistance. Finally, I thank Mrs. Victoria Obire, Mme Rose Azangue, and Mme Yvett Donfack for typing the different drafts of this paper.

LITERATURE CITED

Achebe, C. 1958. Things fall apart. Heinemann, London. Akoroda, M. 0. 1986. Seed dessication and recalcitrance in Telfairia occidentalis. Seed Sci. &

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