Female flower
Developing melons
Female flower
These were seen at Sossusvlei, but they are frequent on dunes throughout the Namib-Naukluft. The Topnaar people, who live along the Kuiseb river, harvest them from the wild. Each family owns the right to harvest certain bushes, though they do not own land. In historic times the !nara melon was the main staple and the Topnaar fought other tribes for their ownership.
The melons ripen in February to April and both the sweet orange pulp and the seeds are eaten. The seeds can be roasted or ground into a flour. The pulp is also used to produce a fruit leather.
J. Henschel, R. Dausab, P. Moser, J. Fallen !Nara - Fruit for development of the !Khuiseb Topnaar Namibia Scientific Society, Windhoek, 2004. ISBN: 99916-40-33-9
