Chayote ("Sechium edule") is an edible plant belonging to the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, along with melons, cucumbers and squash. Globally it is known by many names including christophene or christophine, cho-cho, cidra (Antioquia, Caldas, Quindio and Risaralda regions of Colombia), guatila (Boyacá and Valle del Cauca regions of Colombia), centinarja (Malta), sousou or chou-chou (Mauritian Creole), chuchu (Brazil), pimpinela (Madeira), pipinola (Hawaii), tayota (Dominican Republic), mirliton (Haitian Creole), pear squash, vegetable pear, chouchoute, choko, güisquil (Guatemala, El Salvador), pataste (Honduras), dashkush (Manipuri),iskut (Mizo), su su (Vietnam). Its tuberous and edible root is called chinchayote in Mexico and ichintal in Guatemala.