Trichosanthes cucumerina L. (Cucurbitaceae)

Scientific name
Trichosanthes cucumerina L.
Family name
Cucurbitaceae
Common name
Snake gourd, snake cucumber (English) ; hebiuri (Japanease)
Local name
Buab ngoo
Annual, monoecious, climbing or trailing herb. Stem 5-angled, furrowed, slender. Tendrils branched, 2–3. Leaves alternate, simple, more or less deeply lobed, 5–7, or angular, 7–25 × 8–20 cm, cordate at base, margins dentate, pubescent; petiole 2–10 cm long, furrowed, succulent, scabrid, hairy. Male flowers in axillary racemes, 5 to many flowers together, peduncles 10–30 cm long. Calyx tubular, 5-lobed. Corolla 5-lobed, lobe fringed with hairlike outgrowths, usually white. Stamens 3, anthers free or united, 2 bilocular, 1 unilocular. Female flowers solitary, sessile; perianth as in male flowers; stigmas 3, entire or bifid. Fruit very slender, long, cylindrical, often twisted, 30–180 × 2–10 cm, greenish-white when immature, orange to dark red when mature. Seeds thick, flattened, 1–1.5 cm long, brown, margin undulate.
Traditional medicinal use
Functionality
Functional constituents
Selected cultivars with long, slender, straight fruits, are grown in small areas or backyard gardens. Fruits are much smaller in wild forms. Propagated by direct seeding in the field. An upright supporting stake is needed; some farmers hang a heavy stone from the tip of the fruit to keep it straight.
Young fruits are usually boiled and eaten with nam phrik (dipping sauces), or cooked in curries.
Fruits
Flowers