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Trichosanthes anguina
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Family:
CUCURBITACEAE
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Citation: Trichosanthes anguina L., Sp. Pl. 1008. 1753; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 2: 610. 1879; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 530(373). 1919; Chakrav., Fasc. Fl. Ind. 11: 108. 1982; Manilal & Sivar., Fl. Calicut 120. 1982; Mohanan, Fl. Quilon Dist. 196. 1984; Vajr., Fl. Palghat Dist. 217. 1990.
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Malayalam Name(s):
Padavalam
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Tamil name(s):
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English name(s):
Snake gourd
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Description:
Annuals; stems slender, puberulous. Leaves alternate, 10-15 x 12-18 cm, orbicular-reniform, distantly denticulate, deeply 5-lobed lobes not acuminate pubescent on both surfaces; petiole 12-15 cm long, stout, striate, villose. Tendrils 2-3 fid. Plants monoecious. Male flowers: peduncles 10-25 cm long, robust, 8-15 flowered; pedicels 0.5-2.0 cm long, slender, minutely bracteate; calyx-tube 2.5-3.0 cm long, subcylindric, teeth ca. 2 mm long, reflexed. Petals ca. 8-9 x 3 mm, oblong, 3-nerved. Staminal filaments slender, ca. 2 mm long; anthers ovoid; pistillode 15-17 mm long. Female flowers: peduncles 0.5-5.0 cm long, flowers solitary; ovary narrowly fusiform. Fruits very long (up to 1.5 m), often twisted, surface smooth, often 7-8 white stripes along the length; seeds ca. 14-17 x 7-9 mm and ca. 3-5 mm thick, oblong, finely rugulose, undulate, apex round or obscurely truncate, base attenuate.
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Habit:
Climber
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Flowering & Fruiting:
August-February
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District(s):
All Districts
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Medicinal:
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Habitat:
Cultivated
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Distribution:
Tropical Asia and Africa
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Aquatic:
No
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Epiphyte(s):
No
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Saprophyte:
No
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Stem parasite:
No
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Root parasite:
No
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Flower colour(s):
White
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Weed:
No
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Monocot/Dicot:
Dicotyledonous Plants
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Exotic:
No
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Garden:
No
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Edible:
No
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Vegetable:
Yes
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Endemic to:
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IUCN status:
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Altitude:
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Localities:
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