Chayote Squash

Chayote is an edible plant belonging to the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, along with melons, cucumbers and squash. Chayote has many names around the world - christophene or christophine, cho-cho, Cidra, Guatila pimpinela, Pipinola, pear squash, vegetable pear, chouchoute, choko.

Chayote is originally native to Mexico where it grows abundantly and has little commercial value. It has been introduced as a crop worldwide. The word chayote is a Spanish derivative of the Nahuatl word chayohtli.

The chayote fruit is used in mostly cooked forms. When cooked, chayote is usually handled like summer squash, it is generally lightly cooked. Although most people are familiar only with the fruit as being edible, the root, stem, seeds and leaves are edible as well.

See how you can get a Chayote (Choko) to sprout:



From GrowingYourGreens: "Learn how to grow Chayote Squash vines in this video. John shares his experience with growing chayote for the edible tips. Also great for filling a trellis fast. Loves warm weather."



References:

Chayote Production Guidelines for Hawaii http://bit.ly/1IegDQ8
Chayote - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://bit.ly/1Ieh3pC
Growing Chayote - Organic Gardening - MOTHER EARTH NEWS http://bit.ly/1IegxYT
Gardening Articles :: Health :: Cooking :: National Gardening Association http://bit.ly/1IegA75
How to Grow Chayote - Harvest to Table http://bit.ly/1IegDj6
Growing Chayote | Root Simple http://bit.ly/1IegFHT
Chayote, the other Tropical Squash | farm-to-table-miami http://buff.ly/2liiS0b