| Trichosanthes cucumerina | |
|---|---|
| var. anguina | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Cucurbitales |
| Family: | Cucurbitaceae |
| Genus: | Trichosanthes |
| Species: | T. cucumerina |
| Binomial name | |
| Trichosanthes cucumerina L. |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Trichosanthes anguina L. |
|
Trichosanthes cucumerina is a tropical or subtropical vine, raised for its strikingly long fruit, used as a vegetable, medicine, and, a lesser known use, crafting didgeridoos. Common names include snake gourd (var. anguina), serpent gourd, chichinga, and padwal. It is known as chichinga or chichinge in Bengali, purla in Sambalpuri language, potlakaaya (పొట్లకాయ) in Telugu, pathola(පතෝල) in Sinhala, pudalankaai (புடலங்காய்) in Tamil, dhunduli in Assamese, paduvalakaayi in Kannada and padavalanga (പടവലങ്ങ) in Malayalam.
Formerly, the cultivated form was considered a distinct species, but it is nowadays regarded as a mere variety of the wild ancestor, as they freely interbreed:
The narrow, soft-skinned fruit can reach 150 cm long. Its soft, bland, somewhat mucilaginous flesh is similar to that of the luffa and the calabash. It is most popular in the cuisine of South Asia and Southeast Asia. The shoots, tendrils, and leaves are also eaten as greens.