A Description of Chayote Squash

Fruit

• Commercially sold chayote are typically pear-shaped with a green wrinkled skin, and are about the same size as a mango. Others may be smooth or may contain small spines. Colors include pale green and nearly white.

Vines

• Chayote vines are covered with broad, green, tri-lobed leaves and many curling tendrils. These perennial vines are often grown on trellises, but may be grown on the ground. In some areas -- such as Hawaii -- the chayote vine may become invasive. Vines reach lengths of 30 feet or more.

Blooms

• Blooms appear on the tendrils that line the chayote vine. These five-petaled flowers range in color from white to yellow and green and produce both male and female blooms. After pollination by flying insects, the female blooms develop into a fruit that matures in 28 to 35 days.

Seeds

• The seed of the chayote squash are contained in the fruit. Unlike other members of the Curcurbitaceae family -- that produce an abundance of seeds -- the chayote produces a solitary seed in the center of the fruit. The chayote seed can sprout inside the fruit even before the fruit is harvested. Planting the entire chayote squash produces a new plant.

Flesh

• The flesh of the chayote squash is firm, crisp and mild lending it well to highly-spiced recipes or casseroles. This squash can be baked, fried or even eaten raw in salads. In some areas, such as Latin America, chayote is cooked and baked in pies similar to pumpkin and used in other sweet deserts.