Trichosanthes pilosa

Last updated

Japanese snake gourd
Japanese snake gourd (Trichosanthes ovigera) hanging from the plant.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Cucurbitales
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Genus: Trichosanthes
Species:
T. pilosa
Binomial name
Trichosanthes pilosa
(Ser.) Maxim in Franch. & Sav.
Synonyms [1]
  • Anguina cucumeroides(Ser.) Kuntze
  • Anguina dicoelosperma(C.B.Clarke) Kuntze
  • Anguina hearnii(F.Muell. ex Benth.) Kuntze
  • Anguina himalensis(C.B.Clarke) Kuntze
  • Anguina horsfieldii(Miq.) Kuntze
  • Anguina ovigera(Blume) Kuntze
  • Anguina pilosa(Lour.) Kuntze
  • Bryonia cucumeroidesSer.
  • Platygonia himalensisNaudin ex C.B.Clarke
  • Platygonia kaempferiNaudin
  • Trichosanthes ascendensC.Y.Cheng & C.H.Yueh
  • Trichosanthes boninensisNakai
  • Trichosanthes cavalerieiH.Lév.
  • Trichosanthes chinensisSer.
  • Trichosanthes chingianaHand.-Mazz.
  • Trichosanthes cucumeroides(Ser.) Maxim. ex Franch. & Sav.
  • Trichosanthes cucumeroides var. cavaleriei(H.Lév.) W.J.Chang
  • Trichosanthes cucumeroides var. dicoelosperma(C.B. Clarke) S.K. Chen
  • Trichosanthes cucumeroides var. formosana(Hayata) Kitam.
  • Trichosanthes cucumeroides var. hainanensis(Hayata) S.K.Chen
  • Trichosanthes cucumeroides var. stenocarpaHonda
  • Trichosanthes dicoelospermaC.B.Clarke
  • Trichosanthes formosanaHayata
  • Trichosanthes hainanensisHayata
  • Trichosanthes hearniiF.Muell. ex Benth.
  • Trichosanthes himalensisC.B.Clarke
  • Trichosanthes himalensis var. indivisaChakrav.
  • Trichosanthes holtzeiF.Muell.
  • Trichosanthes horsfieldiiMiq.
  • Trichosanthes mafuluensisMerr. & L.M.Perry
  • Trichosanthes matsudaeHayata
  • Trichosanthes okamotoiKitam.
  • Trichosanthes ovigeraBlume
  • Trichosanthes ovigera var. sikkimensisKundu
  • Trichosanthes pierreiGagnep.
  • Trichosanthes rostrataKitam.
  • Trichosanthes trichocarpaC.Y.Wu
  • Trichosanthes vanoverberghiiMerr.

Trichosanthes pilosa is a tropical or semitropical vine bearing an edible fruit. It is native to Japan, Taiwan, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Xizang (Tibet), Zhejiang) and other parts of southeast Asia as well as in Australia. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] It is known in English as Japanese snake gourd [note 1] .

The Japanese snake gourd (T. pilosa), is very similar in its vegetative characters to the more widespread "snake gourd", Trichosanthes cucumerina , the flower and leaves of the two species are very similar but the fruit of T. pilosa are round to egg-shaped, about 7 cm long and not resembling a snake. [2]

Notes

  1. Robinson and Decker-Walters (1997 [7] ) p. 203-206: "Japanese snake gourd" preferred name for Trichosanthes ovigera, and Trichosanthes ovigera preferred definition for "japanese snake gourd".

Related Research Articles

Cucurbitaceae Family of plants

The Cucurbitaceae, also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family consisting of about 965 species in around 95 genera, of which the most important to humans are:

Gourd Type of fruit

Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly Cucurbita and Lagenaria. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. One of the earliest domesticated types of plants, subspecies of the bottle gourd, Lagenaria siceraria, have been discovered in archaeological sites dating from as early as 13,000 BCE. Gourds have had numerous uses throughout history, including as tools, musical instruments, objects of art, film, and food.

<i>Cucurbita</i> A genus of herbaceous vines in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae

Cucurbita is a genus of herbaceous vines in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae native to the Andes and Mesoamerica. Five species are grown worldwide for their edible fruit, variously known as squash, pumpkin, or gourd, depending on species, variety, and local parlance, and for their seeds. Other kinds of gourd, also called bottle-gourds, are native to Africa and belong to the genus Lagenaria, which is in the same family and subfamily as Cucurbita, but in a different tribe. These other gourds are used as utensils or vessels, and their young fruits are eaten much like those of Cucurbita species.

Melon Type of fruit

A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a "pepo". The word melon derives from Latin melopepo, which is the latinization of the Greek μηλοπέπων (mēlopepōn), meaning "melon", itself a compound of μῆλον (mēlon), "apple, treefruit " and πέπων (pepōn), amongst others "a kind of gourd or melon". Many different cultivars have been produced, particularly of cantaloupes.

<i>Cucurbita pepo</i> Cultvated plant that yields varieties of squash and pumpkin

Cucurbita pepo is a cultivated plant of the genus Cucurbita. It yields varieties of winter squash and pumpkin, but the most widespread varieties belong to the subspecies Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo, called summer squash.

Calabash Species of bottle gourd plant

Calabash, also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, New Guinea bean and Tasmania bean, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed as a vegetable, or harvested mature to be dried and used as a utensil. When it is fresh, the fruit has a light green smooth skin and white flesh.

<i>Acanthophippium</i> Genus of orchids

Acanthophippium is a genus of orchid with thirteen species. The name of this genus is derived from the Greek words acanthos ("spiny") and ephippion ("saddle"), referring to the saddle-like labellum of the plants.

<i>Trichosanthes</i> Genus of plants

Trichosanthes is a genus of tropical and subtropical vines. They belong to the cucumber family (Cucurbitaceae), and are closely related to Gymnopetalum. Hodgsonia, formerly included here, is usually considered a well-distinct genus nowadays.

Tinda Species of flowering plant

Praecitrullus fistulosus, commonly known as Tinda, also called Indian squash, round melon, Indian round gourd or apple gourd or Indian baby pumpkin, is a squash-like cucurbit grown for its immature fruit, a vegetable especially popular in South Asia. It is the only member of the genus Praecitrullus.

Armenian cucumber Vegetable

The Armenian cucumber, Cucumis melo var. flexuosus, is a type of long, slender fruit which tastes like a cucumber and looks somewhat like a cucumber inside. It is actually a variety of muskmelon, a species closely related to the cucumber. It is also known as the yard-long cucumber, snake cucumber, snake melon, tirozî in Kurdish, uri in Japanese, acur in Turkish, kakri in Hindi, tar in Punjabi, طرح in Arabic, commarella or tortarello in Italian. It should not be confused with the snake gourds. The skin is very thin, light green, and bumpless. It has no bitterness and the fruit is almost always used without peeling. It is also sometimes called a gutah.

<i>Cucurbita ficifolia</i> Species of plant

Cucurbita ficifolia is a species of squash, grown for its edible seeds, fruit, and greens. It has many common names in English such as the fig-leaf gourd, Malabar gourd, black seed squash and cidra. Although it is closely related to other squashes in its genus, such as the pumpkin, it shows considerable biochemical difference from them and does not hybridize readily with them.

<i>Trichosanthes cucumerina</i> Species of vine

Trichosanthes cucumerina is a tropical or subtropical vine. Its variety T. cucumerina var. anguina raised for its strikingly long fruit. In Asia, it is eaten immature as a vegetable much like the summer squash and in Africa, the reddish pulp of mature snake gourd is used as an economical substitute for tomato. Common names for the cultivated variety include snake gourd, serpent gourd, chichinda and padwal.

<i>Cucurbita digitata</i> Species of vine

Cucurbita digitata is a species of flowering plant in the squash family known by the common names fingerleaf gourd and bitter squash. It is similar to Cucurbita californica, Cucurbita cordata, Cucurbita cylindrata, and Cucurbita palmata and all these species hybridize readily. These species form the only restricted xerophyte species group in the genus Cucurbita. Each member of this species group is native to the Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico where they are relatively uncommon. Each group member is found in hot, arid regions with low rainfall. They prefer soil that is loose, gravelly, and well-drained. C. digitata is native to northern Baja California at higher elevations, northern Sonora, Mexico, southern Arizona, and southwestern New Mexico. The juvenile leaves of C. cylindrata, C. cordata, C. digitata, and C. palmata show a high degree of similarity, but their mature leaves are visibly different, as are their root structures. C. palmata and C. digitata are sympatric, with C. palmata separating the ranges of C. digitata at the juncture of Baja California, California, and Arizona. C. digitata fruits are clear green mottle that turns yellow at maturity, striped, and round.

<i>Trichosanthes kirilowii</i> Species of flowering plant

Trichosanthes kirilowii is a flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae found particularly in Henan, Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi, and Shaanxi. It is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine, where it shares the name guālóu with the related T. rosthornii. It is known as "Chinese cucumber" and "Chinese snake gourd" in English.

Stuffed squash

Stuffed squash, courgette, marrow, mahshi, or zucchini is a dish common in the region of the former Ottoman Empire from the Balkans to the Levant and Egypt, a kind of dolma. It consists of various kinds of squash or zucchini stuffed with rice and sometimes meat and cooked on the stovetop or in the oven. The meat version is served hot, as a main course. The meatless version is considered an "olive-oil dish" and is often eaten at room temperature or warm.

Cucurbitacin

Cucurbitacin is any of a class of biochemical compounds that some plants — notably members of the pumpkin and gourd family, Cucurbitaceae — produce and which function as a defence against herbivores. Cucurbitacins are chemically classified as triterpenes, formally derived from cucurbitane, a triterpene hydrocarbon – specifically, from the unsaturated variant cucurbit-5-ene, or 19(10→9β)-abeo-10α-lanost-5-ene. They often occur as glycosides. They and their derivatives have been found in many plant families, in some mushrooms and even in some marine mollusks.

<i>Cucumis melo</i> Species of plant

Cucumis melo, also known as melon, is a species of Cucumis that has been developed into many cultivated varieties. The fruit is a pepo. The flesh is either sweet or bland, with or without a musky aroma, and the rind can be smooth, ribbed, wrinkled, or netted. In North America, the sweet-flesh varieties are often collectively called muskmelon, including the musky netted-rind varieties and the inodorous smooth-rind varieties, and cantaloupe usually means the former type. However, muskmelon in a narrow sense only refers to the musky netted-rind type, while the true cantaloupe is the European type with ribbed and often warty rind that is seldom grown in North America.

<i>Spathoglottis plicata</i> Species of plant

Spathoglottis plicata, commonly known as the Philippine ground orchid, or large purple orchid is an evergreen, terrestrial plant with crowded pseudobulbs, three or four large, pleated leaves and up to forty resupinate, pink to purple flowers. It is found from tropical and subtropical Asia to Australia and the western Pacific including Tonga and Samoa.

<i>Diaphania indica</i> Species of moth

Diaphania indica, the cucumber moth or cotton caterpillar, is a widespread but mainly Old World moth species. It belongs to the grass moth family, and therein to the large subfamily Spilomelinae. This moth occurs in many tropical and subtropical regions outside the Americas, though it is native to southern Asia; it is occasionally a significant pest of cucurbits and some other plants.

<i>Gynostemma</i> Genus of flowering plants

Gynostemma is a genus of perennial climbing vines in the cucumber, gourd, and melon family, comprising at least 19 species, all native to the tropical East or Far East, inclusive of the Himalayas: China ; the islands of Japan; Malaysia; and New Guinea. The term Gynostemma is derived from Ancient Greek γυνή meaning "woman" or "female", and στέμμα meaning "wreath" or "garland". In (post-)classical Latin the form stemma is attested as Greek loanword. In Ancient Greek and Latin, stemma is of neuter gender. German-Dutch botanist Carl Ludwig Blume described Gynostemma from two species he named: G. pedata and G. simplicifolia. Neither species was clearly designated by him as the type; however, the former species, G. pedatum is now considered to be a synonym of G. pentaphyllum(Thunb.) Makino. The genus was published in 1825, in Carl Ludwig von Blume's Bijdragen tot de flora van Nederlandsch Indië.

References

  1. The Plant List, Trichosanthes pilosa
  2. 1 2 Flora of China v 19 p 45, Trichosanthes cucumeroides
  3. Merrill, Elmer Drew. 1914. Philippine Journal of Science. Section C, Botany. Manila, 9: 458, Trichosanthes vanoverberghii in the Philippines
  4. Kundu. 1943. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 43: 382, Trichosanthes ovigera var. sikkimensis, in Sikkim
  5. Blume, Carl Ludwig von. 1826. Bijdragen tot de Flora van Nederlandsch Indie 15: 934, Trichosanthes ovigera in Malaya
  6. Miquel, Friedrich Anton Wilhelm. 1856. Flora van Nederlandsch Indie i. I. 677, Trichosanthes horsfieldii in Java
  7. Robinson RW and DS Decker-Walters. 1997. Appendix: Common Cucurbit Names and their Scientific Equivalents. in: Cucurbits. CAB International, USA.