Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants - Online edition Family Profile Cucurbitaceae Family Description A family of about 90-120 genera and 700-800 species, pantropic with a few species extending into the temperate zones; 13 genera occur naturally in Australia. Genera Cucumis - A genus of 25 species in tropical and southern Africa, tropical Asia and Australia; eight species occur naturally and three are naturalised in Australia. Telford (1982); Telford et al (2011). Diplocyclos - A genus of about four species in tropical Africa, Asia, Malesia, Australia and the Pacific islands; one species occurs naturally in Australia. Telford (1982). Luffa - A genus of about six species in tropical America, Africa, Asia and Australia; two species occur naturally in Australia. Telford (1982). Momordica - A genus of about 45 species in tropical Africa, Asia and Australia; two species occur naturally in Australia and one species has become naturalised. Telford (1982). Muellerargia - A genus of two species, one species occurs in Madagascar and the other in Malesia and Australia. Telford (1982). Neoalsomitra - A genus of about 11-15 species in SE Asia, Malesia and Australia; four or five species occur naturally in Australia. Telford (1982); Wilde & Duyfjes (2003). Sicyos - A genus of about 50 species in the Americas, Pacific Islands, New Zealand and Australia; one species occurs naturally in Australia. Telford (1982). Trichosanthes - A genus of about 100 species in Asia, Malesia, Australia and the Pacific islands; six species occur naturally in Australia. Telford (1982); Cooper (2011). Zehneria - A genus of about 94 species in Africa, Madagascar, Asia, through Malesia to Australia and the Pacific; one species occurs naturally in Australia. Telford (1982); Wilde & Duyfjes (2006); Dwivedi (2018). References Cooper, W.E. & de Boer, H.J. (2011), A taxonomic revision of Trichosanthes L. (Cucurbitaceae) in Australia, including one new species from the Northern Territory. Austrobaileya 8(3):364-386. Dwivedi, M.D. et al. (2018), Phylogeny of Zehneria (Cucurbitaceae) with special focus on Asia. Taxon 67(1): 55-65. Telford, I.R. (1982). Cucurbitaceae. In 'Flora of Australia.' Vol. 8, (Australian Government Publishing Service: Canberra.), pp. 158-198. Telford, I.R.H., Sebastian, P., Bruhl, J.J. & Renner, S.S. (2011), Cucumis (Cucurbitaceae) in Australia and Eastern Malesia, including newly recognized species and sister species to C. melo. Systematic Botany 36(2): 376-389. Wilde, W.J.J.O. de & Duyfjes, B.E.E. (2003). Revision of Neoalsomitra (Cucurbitaceae). Blumea 48: 99-121. Wilde, W.J.J.O. de & Duyfjes, B.E.E. (2006). Redefinition of Zehneria and four new related genera (Cucurbitaceae) with an enumeration of the Australia and Pacific species. Blumea 51: 1-88. Copyright © CSIRO 2020, all rights reserved. Web edition hosted at https://apps.lucidcentral.org/rainforest.