Trichosanthes cucumerina

Snake gourd ( Trichosanthes cucumerina )

Called The snake gourd ( Trichosanthes cucumerina ), also cucumber, Chinese cucumber or snake gourd, is a widespread in the tropics and subtropics grown crop of the family Cucurbitaceae ( Cucurbitaceae ).

Not to be confused is the snake gourd with the cucumber (Cucumis sativus ), the elongated varieties are sometimes referred to as cucumbers.

Features

The snake gourd forms long vines with palmately lobed, hairy leaves and branched tendrils.

The flowers are large, white, frayed, fragrant and open in the night. The male flowers are in clusters, the female stand individually, but occur on the same plant. The cucumber is so monoecious. The fruits are ovoid tapering to long slender, snake- like sinuous, up to 150 inches long and its name to the Art Unripe fruits are green with white stripes and ripen orange to red. In the white, fibrous flesh Sitting brown seeds. Mature fruits are bitter.

The chromosome number is 2n = 22, 44

Dissemination

The home of the species is suspected in India. There they may have been taken also in culture. Today it is grown in the humid tropics and sub- tropics of Australasia, Latin America and Africa and is also wild there.

System

The cultivated form, var Trichosanthes cucumerina anguina (L.) Haines, was formerly often performed as a separate species Trichosanthes L. anguina. It is, however, freely interbreed and genetically hardly be distinguished with the wild form of it.

Cultivation and use

The snake gourd is sensitive to soil drought. It is therefore usually grown at the beginning of the rainy season. Of advantage are constant temperatures above 25 ° C and short day lengths. The vines are attached to trellises or other supports. At the young fruits are sometimes hung on the blossom end stones, just to get fruits. The fruits are harvested two to three months after planting with a length of 30 to 60 centimeters.

Be used young, immature fruits before they are bitter. They are cooked or used in curries. Shoot tips and leaves are used as vegetables, roots and seeds as a medicine. The application areas include anthelmintic, diarrhea, bronchitis and fever.

Documents

• R. W. Robinson, D. S. Decker -Walters: cucurbits. CAB International, Wallingford 1997, pp. 109-110, ISBN 0-85199-133-5