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Coccinia grandis

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Caudex of wild plants in Sri Lanka.


Male flower. Photo by: Soumen Aditya.


Photo by: Soumen Aditya.


Photo by: Soumen Aditya.


The seeds by Bernard Gacongne.

Author:  Johann Otto Voigt, 1845
Family:  CUCURBITACEAE
Origin:  Assam, Bangladesh, Benin, Borneo, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, India, Ivory Coast, Java, Kenya, Laccadive Island, Laos, Lesser Sunda Island, Malaya, Mali, Maluku, Mauritania, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South China Sea, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sulawesi; Indonesia, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Yemen, Zaïre (Hawaii,  Fiji, Central Americas).
Reports from Tanzania about a subspecies with yellow flowers.
Soil:  Anything
Water:  Medium
Sun:  Minimum - Maximum
Thickness:  12 Centimetres
Height:  3-20 Meters
Flower:  White
Propagate:  Seeds/Cuttings
Names:  Ivy Gourd, Gentleman's Toes,  Scarlet gourd, Scarlet-fruited Gourd, Kundru, Kiuri Awia, Tindora , Talacucha
Synonyms:  Bryonia grandis Carl Linnaeus, 1767.
- and way more below...

This dioecious member of the Cucurbitaceae family was given this name by Johann Otto Voigt in 1845. It is indigenous to quite some countries around Equator, and have, more or less, been spread to the rest. It is not picky regarding soil, and will get bye with average water and all from little to full sun. The caudex can grow to twelve centimetres or more, the vines grow up to three meters or even 20 metres. It is dioecious (either male- or female plant), with both sexes having white flowers around four centimetres. The fruits are smooth, scarlet and from three to six centimetres long.

Grown in Asia and the Philippines for it's leaves and fruits, which are used in cooking. In some parts of the world, it is considered highly invasive. Reports from Tanzania about a subspecies with yellow flowers.

The genera name from Latin coccineus, meaning 'red' or 'scarlet' which must referee to the fruits. The specific name means 'large' or 'big'.


Young wild plant in Sri Lanka.


Male flower. Photo by: Soumen Aditya.


The fruits by Bernard Gacongne.

Synonyms:
Bryonia acerifolia, D.Dietr.
Bryonia alceifolia,
Willd.
Bryonia barbata,
Buch.-Ham. ex Cogn.
Bryonia moimoi,
Ser.
Bryonia sinuosa,
Wall.
Cephalandra grandis,
Kurz.
Cephalandra indica,
Naudin.
Cephalandra moghadd,
Broun & R.L.Massey.
Cephalandra schimperi,
Naudin.
Coccinia grandis
var. wightiana, Greb.
Coccinia helenae,
Buscal. & Muschl.
Coccinia indica,
Wight & Arn.
Coccinia loureiroana,
M.Roem.
Coccinia moghadd,
Asch.
Coccinia moimoi,
M.Roem.
Coccinia palmatisecta,
Kotschy.
Coccinia schimperi,
Naudin.
Coccinia wightiana,
M.Roem.
Cucumis pavel,
Kostel.
Cucurbita dioica,
Roxb. ex Wight & Arn.
Cucurbita schimperiana,
Hochst. ex Cogn.
Luffa moghadd,
Peterm.
Momordica bicolor,
Blume
Momordica covel,
Dennst.
Momordica monadelpha,
Roxb.
.