Nara melon

A leafless, thorny shrub of the Namib dunes bears juicy melons on which the Topnaar people have depended for centuries.

Acanthosicyos horridus is a shrub of the gourd family that forms tangled clumps of green, thorny, leafless stems on the dunes – photosynthesis is carried out by the stems and thorns. Its long roots reach deep down to the groundwater beneath the beds of seasonal rivers. The clumps trap windblown sand, so that over time hummocks build up around them. The fruits, the size of a small melon, have a prickly rind and sweetish orange flesh, and their seeds are nutritious and edible. The shrub also provides shelter and water for many desert animals.

Significance in the country

For the Topnaar (ǂAonin) people of the Kuiseb delta, !nara fruits are a traditional staple food – the pulp is cooked and dried, and the seeds are sold as a delicacy. The plant is endemic to the Namib Desert and an important symbol of its culture.

Where it grows

The dunes of the Namib Desert, especially around the Kuiseb delta and Walvis Bay (Erongo); also in the southern Namib as far as the area around Lüderitz.

More: Wikipedia (en)