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.
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.
Young fruits are usually boiled and eaten with nam phrik (dipping sauces), or cooked in curries.