number of recipes in Australia that advise chayotes can be used in part replacement of canned apples to make the fruit go farther in making apple pies. This likely arose because of the economies of "mock" food substitutes during the Depression Era, shortages of canned fruit in the years following World War II, and the fact that apples do not grow in many tropical and subtropical parts of Australia, making them scarce. Chayotes, on the other hand, grow extensively in Australia, with many suburban backyards featuring chayote vines growing along their fence lines and outhouses. Chayote as a mummification agent Due to its purported cell-regenerative properties, it is believed as a contemporary legend that this fruit caused the mummification of people from the Colombian town of San Bernardo who extensively consumed it. The very well preserved skin and flesh can be seen in the mummies today. Gallery See also Araujia sericifera, a toxic weed that is often described as "choko-like". List of vegetables References Sources Rafael Lira Saade. 1996. Chayote Sechium edule (Jacq.) Sw. Promoting the conservation and use of underutilized and neglected crops. 8. Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Gatersleben/International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy. available in pdf format External links Mirliton.org, A nonprofit organization promoting growing techniques and conservation of mirlitons (Louisiana name for chayote) Chayote Information Purdue University Horticulture Growing Chayote Mother Earth News Güisquil (wiskil), Sechium edule, chayote is a major crop in Mayan agriculture Maya Ethnobotany Crops originating from Mexico Crops originating from the Americas Sechium edule Flora of Barbados Sechium edule Flora of Guatemala Flora of Jamaica Sechium edule Flora of Nepal Flora of Nicaragua Sechium edule Sechium edule Sechium edule Fruit vegetables Leaf vegetables Medicinal plants of Central America Medicinal plants of North America Belizean cuisine Haitian cuisine Mexican cuisine Nicaraguan cuisine Salvadoran cuisine Tropical agriculture