Description
Stout perennial herb, 5-10(-15) m long, leafy stem 2-5 mm diam., plant almost glabrous with tuber-like rootstock;
Leaves:
Fruit solitary, ripening green or whitish, 7-15(-20) cm long, often with irregular surface, low-warted or irregularly sulcate, smooth or (soft) spiny;
Seed 50-100 mm long.
Distribution
Southern America, tropics and subtropics all over the world present
Originally wild and cultivated in Central America, now widely cultivated (usually over trellis) in the tropics and subtropics all over the world, and commonly running wild.
Uses
The shoots and fruits are used as a vegetable. The nectariferous male flowers attract bees.
Citation
W.J.de Wilde & Duyfjes – In: Sandakania: 77
C.Jeffrey 1980: Cucurbitaceae E. Asia: 59
Cogn. 1881 – In: A.DC. & C.DC., Monogr. Phan. 3: 901
J.M.M.Engels & C.Jeffrey 1993 – In: PROSEA: 246
Backer 1964 – In: Backer & Bakh.f., Fl. Java 1: 306
Sw. 2008 – In: Fl. Thailand: 496
