Chayote

Chayote is a perennial vine that survives through underground tubers, with stems 3–10 m long and tendrils; its large heart-shaped leaves have 3–5 lobes. Small greenish-yellow unisexual flowers appear in clusters. The fruit is a berry, pear-shaped or round, 7–15 cm long, with thin pale-green to white skin marked by deep longitudinal grooves and containing a single large pale-brown seed. The young tendril-bearing shoots are also harvested as greens.

Chayote originated in Central America and Mexico and is grown throughout the tropics and subtropics; in Vietnam it is planted in many places, especially cool highlands such as Sa Pa and Đà Lạt (often called Sa Pa chayote). The young fruit goes into soups, garlic stir-fries, boiling and salads; the young shoots are stir-fried or souped; the mature tuber can be eaten like a potato. The fruit is cooling, low in calories and rich in fibre.