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Momordica cochinchinensis

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Photo by Ivan Cupic.


Photo by Ivan Cupic.  


Photo by Ivan Cupic.

Author:  Curt Polycarp J. Sprengel, 1826
Family:  CUCURBITACEAE
Origin:  Assam, NE Australia, Bangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia, China, East Himalaya, India, Java, Laos, Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, New Guinea, Philippines, Sulawesi + Sumatera; Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, Tibet, Vietnam
Soil:  Mix - Rich
Water:  Medium - Maximum
Sun:  Minimum - Medium
Thickness:  3 Centimetres
Height:  10 Metres
Flower:  Pale Yellow
Propagate:  Seeds
Names:  Gac, Baby Jackfruit, Spiny Bitter Gourd, Sweet Gourd, Cochinchin Gourd, Chinese Bitter-Cucumber, Spiny Bitter-Cucumber
Synonyms:  Muricia cochinchinensis Lour. 1790.
Momordica mixta
Roxb. 1832.
Momordica macrophylla
Gage, 1904.
Momordica meloniflora
Hand.-Mazz. 1921.
Momordica ovata,
Cogn.
Momordica sphaeroidea,
Blanco.
Momordica suringarii,
Cogn.
Zucca commersoniana,
Ser.

This member of the Cucurbitaceae family was given this name by Curt Polycarp Joachim Sprengel in 1826. It is found in Taiwan, Bangladesh, China, India, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Queensland; northern Australia. It is growing in a rather rich soil with quite some water and little to some sun. The flowers are pale yellow with a black centre. The roots are tuberous, the size might not excide three centimetres in diameter. The wines can reach ten metres or more.

Grown for its dark orange fruits that grow to 10-15 centimetres in diameter. It is dioecious; either male- or female plants.

The name comes from Mordio: 'to bite' after the bitten appearance of the seeds. The species name derives from the Cochinchina region in the northern part of Viet Nam.


The red fruits from Freepik.com.