Trichosanthes valida
Content
Description
Climber to 10 m long, minutely grey-brown hairy, late glabrescent, leafy stem 4-9 mm diam.;
Leaves:
Fruit green with pale yellow markings, ripening evenly(?) red, ellipsoid, 10-18 by 8-9 cm;
Seeds dark brown, compressed, obovate or elliptic, (8-)9-11(-25) by (5-)6-9 by 2 mm, base and apex rounded, margin absent, edge entire.
Distribution
Asia-Tropical: Lesser Sunda Is. present; Maluku (Maluku present); New Guinea present; Philippines (Philippines present); Sulawesi (Sulawesi present), Cebu present, Dodinga present, Dumoga Bone National Park present, Gn Masarang present, Halmahera present, Kendari present, Luzon present, Timor present, Vogelkop: Andai Forest Reserve present, West Papua present
Malesia: Philippines (Luzon, Cebu), Sulawesi (Gn Masarang; Dumoga Bone National Park; Kendari), Lesser Sunda Islands (Timor Leste), Moluccas (Halmahera: Dodinga), New Guinea (West Papua (Vogelkop: Andai Forest Reserve)).
Taxonomy
3 Trichosanthes valida is close to T. montana, a species confined to West Malesia in mountainous area, differing in e.g. globose (or ellipsoid, Java) fruit, and shorter male peduncles. The taxonomy of both species needs further study.
2 Besides the leaf blade glands, the lower leaf surface has in all specimens very minute regularly spaced pale brown to blackish points, possibly of a glandular nature.
1 Bicknell 666 (with fruit, reported as 6 cm long (only photo seen)) and 1344 (male flowers), both from Cebu, may represent a different yet undescribed taxon.