pepino Physical Geogr.
(pɛˈpiːnəʊ)
[Sp., = ‘cucumber’.]
A small, conical hill characteristic of tropical and subtropical karstic regions, esp. one of those in Puerto Rico. Also pepino hill. Cf. hum n.4, mogote.
| 1899 Nat. Geogr. Mag. Mar. 100 Along their inner border these [hills] are of remarkable pointed character,..and are appropriately termed by the natives ‘Pepinos’ or cucumbers. 1915 Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. XXVI. 16 This type of topography is represented by the small level tract surrounded or dotted over with small hills, called ‘pepino hills’ locally, standing like haystacks above the plain. 1934 Jrnl. Geol. XLII. 545 The development of pepino topography is characteristic of limestones in humid tropical countries. 1954 [see mogote]. 1968 R. W. Fairbridge Encycl. Geomorphol. 161/2 Also known as ‘haystack hills’, or ‘tit hills’, the Pepino hills are a characteristic feature of a mature karst landscape in tropical to subtropical latitudes. |
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Sense in Dict. becomes 2. Restrict Physical Geogr. to sense in Dict. and add: 1. A shrub, Solanum muricatum, native to south and central America, but widely cultivated elsewhere for its fruit; more usu., the small elongated melon-like fruit of this plant, having a yellow skin with purplish patches and yellow flesh.
| 1890 Garden & Forest III. 471/2 The Pepo of Peru..is probably identical with the Pepino of Central America. This Solanum fruit is of the size of a hen's egg or a goose egg; tastes like a melon with a very fine acid; allays thirst readily [etc.]. 1922 Bull. Guam Agric. Experimental Station II. 47 The pepino has many characteristics common to both the cucumber and the musk melon. 1971 J. Ross Holiday Cooking Abroad 118 Pepino, manzana, mayonesa, alcaparras. 1980 Ann. Appl. Biol. XCIV. 61 Pepino mosaic virus..was found in fields of pepino (Solanum muricatum) in the Canete valley in coastal Peru. 1988 Sun (Brisbane) 13 Apr. 39/4 Pepinos can be eaten straight from the hand and there is no need to peel. |