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PUBLISHED IN: Hortus Suburbanus Calcuttensis 59. 1845. TYPE SPECIMEN: ETYMOLOGY: large. BASIONYM: Bryonia grandis L., Mantissa Plantarum 1: 126. 1767. SYNONYMY: Cephalandra indica (Wight & Arn.) Naudin, Annales des Sciences Naturelles; Botanique, sér. 5 , 5: 16. 1866. Annotation: nom. illeg. fide Keraudren (1990). Basionym: Coccinia indica Wight & Arn., Prodromus Florae Peninsulae Indiae Orientalis 1: 347–348. 1834. INFRASPECIFIC TAXA: Coccinia grandis var. wightiana (Roem.) I. Grebenscikov, R. Mansfeld, Verz. Landwirtsch. u. Gartn. Kulturpfl., Auf. 2, ed. J. Schultze-Motel, 2: 929. 1986. VERNACULAR NAME: ivy gourd OTHER VERNACULAR NAMES: scarlet-fruited gourd, tindora, kovai fruit CULTIVARS: Two distinct immature fruit forms—bitter and sweet. Sweet form includes several cultivars in India differing in shape, length, size, color, patterns of stripes on the fruit, and yield capacity. DESCRIPTION: Climbing, perennial herb with generally underground caudex; leaves ovate 5-angular, deeply cordate at the base; dioecious, flowers white, arranged in leaf axils; fruit ellipsoid-oblong or cylindrical, immature fruit green with paler green stripes, turning bright scarlet at maturity. CHROMOSOME NUMBER: 2n = 24. DISTRIBUTION: Humid tropics in Africa and Asia, an introduced weed problem in Australia, Fiji;, W.Indies, tropical S.America, and Hawaii. Origin in India. ECOLOGY: EDIBLE USE: Fruit, seeds, and tender shoots eaten; used as a pickle, marinated in salads, on crudite platters, and in salsa, or Indian curries. Immature fruit may also be fried, cooked with rice, candied, or dehydrated as chips for later use. Mature scarlet fruits are sweet and eaten raw. MEDICINAL USE: Juice of root used in treatment of diabetes. Juice from leaf used to treat earache. OTHER USE: ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE: Most important in India and Malaysia. Tribal peoples of Orissa, India plant this plant in their backyards. Warning: can become an invasive weed where introduced in the tropics. CONSERVATION: CULTIVATION PRACTICES: SEEDS AVAILABLE FROM: LITERATURE: Ramachandran, K. & B. Subramaniam. 1983. Scarlet gourd, Coccinia grandis, little-known tropical drug plant. Econ. Bot. 37 (4): 380–383. INTERNET: http://www.hear.org/AlienSpeciesInHawaii/InfoIndexPlants.htm |