Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt
Family
Cucurbitaceae
Synonyms
Bryonia grandis L., Coccinia indica Wight & Arnott, Coccinia cordifolia (auct. non L.) Cogn.
Vernacular Names
|
Malaysia |
Pepasan, papasan. |
|
English |
Ivy gourd, small gourd, scarlet gourd. |
|
Indonesia |
Papasan, kemarongan (Java), bolu teke (Java). |
|
Cambodia |
Slök baahs. |
|
Laos |
Tam ling, tam nin. |
|
Thailand |
Phaktamlung (General), phakkhaep (Northern). |
|
Vietnam |
Hoa b[as]t, rau b[as]t. |
Geographical Distributions
Coccinia grandis occurs wild from Africa to the Indo-Malaysian region. It is cultivated mainly in India, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Description
Coccinia grandis is a perennial, dioecious, climbing or trailing herb that can reach up to 20 m long with tuberous roots. The stem is green and longitudinally ribbed when young. It becomes white-spotted when older and eventually woody and slightly cylindrical. The tendrils are simple, usually one per node and in stipular position.
The leaves are simple, arranged alternate and with petiole 1-5 cm long. The leaf blade is broadly ovate to subpentagonal or orbicular in outline, measuring 3-12 cm x 3-15 cm, shallowly to deeply palmately 3-5-lobed, cordate at base, with entire or sinuate margin and often with distinct reddish glandular teeth, hairless and dotted.
The male flowers are axillary, solitary or paired and rarely 3-4 in a short raceme. The pedicel is 0.7-7 cm long. The receptacle is 3-7 mm long and tubular. There are 5 sepals, which are linear and measure up to 6 mm long. The petal is bell-shaped, yellow-orange, green veined and 5-lobed, where the lobes measure up to 2 cm x 1.5 cm. The staminal column is 6 mm long. The female flowers are axillary and solitary. The pedicel is up to 2.5 cm long. The ovary is cylindrical, measures up to 1.5 cm long, with style 3 mm long, with 3-lobed stigma and each lobe is 2-lobed.
The fruit is berry-like, ellipsoid or rarely spherical, measuring 3-7 cm x 1-3.5 cm, fleshy, green with white stripes when young and turns red at maturity. The fruit stalk is up to 4 cm long.
The seed is asymmetrically pear-shaped in outline, compressed, measuring 6 mm x 3 mm x 1.5 mm, rather thick and with grooved margin and fibrillose testa.
Ecology / Cultivation
Coccinia grandis occurs wild in grasslands, brushwoods, on roadsides, in hedges and light forests from the plains up to 1500 m altitude. Little is known about optimum ecological conditions, and their influence on growth and development. Coccinia grandis seems to require well-distributed rainfall and fairly high humidity. Soils should be well-drained as it is intolerant to waterlogging.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
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Plant Resources of South-East Asia No.8: Vegetables.
