Trichosanthes pilosa

Japanese snake gourd
Trichosanthes pilosa, "Japanese snake gourd".
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Angiosperms
Class: Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Cucurbitales
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Genus: Trichosanthes
Species: T. pilosa
Binomial name
Trichosanthes pilosa
(Ser.) Maxim in Franch. & Sav.
Synonyms[1]
  • Anguina cucumeroides (Ser.) Kuntze
  • Anguina dicoelosperma (C.B.Clarke) Kuntze
  • Anguina hearnii (F.Muell. ex Benth.) Kuntze
  • Anguina himalensis (C.B.Clarke) Kuntze
  • Anguina horsfieldii (Miq.) Kuntze
  • Anguina ovigera (Blume) Kuntze
  • Anguina pilosa (Lour.) Kuntze
  • Bryonia cucumeroides Ser.
  • Platygonia himalensis Naudin ex C.B.Clarke
  • Platygonia kaempferi Naudin
  • Trichosanthes ascendens C.Y.Cheng & C.H.Yueh
  • Trichosanthes boninensis Nakai
  • Trichosanthes cavaleriei H.Lév.
  • Trichosanthes chinensis Ser.
  • Trichosanthes chingiana Hand.-Mazz.
  • Trichosanthes cucumeroides (Ser.) Maxim. ex Franch. & Sav.
  • Trichosanthes cucumeroides var. cavaleriei (H.Lév.) W.J.Chang
  • Trichosanthes cucumeroides var. dicoelosperma (C.B. Clarke) S.K. Chen
  • Trichosanthes cucumeroides var. formosana (Hayata) Kitam.
  • Trichosanthes cucumeroides var. hainanensis (Hayata) S.K.Chen
  • Trichosanthes cucumeroides var. stenocarpa Honda
  • Trichosanthes dicoelosperma C.B.Clarke
  • Trichosanthes formosana Hayata
  • Trichosanthes hainanensis Hayata
  • Trichosanthes hearnii F.Muell. ex Benth.
  • Trichosanthes himalensis C.B.Clarke
  • Trichosanthes himalensis var. indivisa Chakrav.
  • Trichosanthes holtzei F.Muell.
  • Trichosanthes horsfieldii Miq.
  • Trichosanthes mafuluensis Merr. & L.M.Perry
  • Trichosanthes matsudae Hayata
  • Trichosanthes okamotoi Kitam.
  • Trichosanthes ovigera Blume
  • Trichosanthes ovigera var. sikkimensis Kundu
  • Trichosanthes pierrei Gagnep.
  • Trichosanthes rostrata Kitam.
  • Trichosanthes trichocarpa C.Y.Wu
  • Trichosanthes vanoverberghii Merr.

Trichosanthes pilosa is a tropical or semitropical vine bearing an edible fruit. It is native to Japan, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Xizang (Tibet), Zhejiang) and other parts of southeast Asia as well as in Australia.[2][3][4][5][6] It is known in English as Japanese snake gourd[note 1].

The Japanese snake gourd (T. pilosa), is very similar in its vegetative characters to the more widespread "snake gourd", Trichosanthes cucumerina, the flower and leaves of the two species are very similar but the fruit of T. pilosa are round to egg-shaped, about 7 cm long and not resembling a snake.[2]

Notes

  1. ↑ Robinson and Decker-Walters (1997[7]) p. 203-206: "Japanese snake gourd" preferred name for Trichosanthes ovigera, and Trichosanthes ovigera preferred definition for "japanese snake gourd".

References

  1. ↑ The Plant List, Trichosanthes pilosa
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Flora of China v 19 p 45, Trichosanthes cucumeroides
  3. ↑ Merrill, Elmer Drew. 1914. Philippine Journal of Science. Section C, Botany. Manila, 9: 458, Trichosanthes vanoverberghii in the Philippines
  4. ↑ Kundu. 1943. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 43: 382, Trichosanthes ovigera var. sikkimensis, in Sikkim
  5. ↑ Blume, Carl Ludwig von. 1826. Bijdragen tot de Flora van Nederlandsch Indie 15: 934, Trichosanthes ovigera in Malaya
  6. ↑ Miquel, Friedrich Anton Wilhelm. 1856. Flora van Nederlandsch Indie i. I. 677, Trichosanthes horsfieldii in Java
  7. ↑ Robinson RW and DS Decker-Walters. 1997. Appendix: Common Cucurbit Names and their Scientific Equivalents. in: Cucurbits. CAB International, USA.