Cucurbitaceae FAMILY

Trichosanthes cucumerina

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Trichosanthes cucumerina is an annual, climbing plant producing stems up to 6 metres long that can sprawl over the ground or climb into other plants for support, attaching themselves by means of tendrils. This is the wild species from which the edible snake gourds (Trichosanthes cucumerina anguina) have been developed. Its fruit is bitter and inedible, but the plant is sometimes gathered from the wild for local medicinal use.

Habitat & Origin

Origintropical

Native RangeE. Asia - China, Indian subcontinent, Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia.

HabitatOpen forest, forest margins and scrub vegetation, at elevations up to 1000 metres, occasionally to 1,500 metres[ 310 Title Plant Resources of Southeast Asia Publication Author Website http://proseanet.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia. ]. Jungles along valleys, thickets on mountain slopes at elevations of 400 - 1,600 metres in southern China[ 266 Title Flora of China Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ Publisher Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. Year 1994 ISBN Description An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available. ].