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Momordica charantia, (commonly called bitter melon, cerassee, goya, bitter apple, bitter gourd, bitter squash, balsam-pear, karavila and many more names listed below) [1] is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae,widely grown in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean for its edible fruit.
The green leaf juice in water is consumed daily. This wild melon is relatively small in size compared to cultivated bitter melon. Momordica charantia ( bitter melon , Mandarin Chinese : kǔ guā 苦瓜) is native to Africa but has been used in Chinese folk medicine for centuries as a 'bitter, cold' herb, and has recently been brought into ...
Citrullus amarus Schrad. – citron melon; Citrullus colocynthis Schrad. – colocynth; Citrullus ecirrhosus Cogn. – tendril-less melon; Citrullus lanatus Matsum. & Nakai – desert watermelon Citrullus lanatus subsp. vulgaris var. cordophanus Fursa; Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus; Citrullus mucosospermus Fursa – egusi melon
The plants in this family are grown around the tropics and in temperate areas of the world, where those with edible fruits were among the earliest cultivated plants in both the Old and New Worlds. The family Cucurbitaceae ranks among the highest of plant families for number and percentage of species used as human food. [ 5 ]
A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. It can also specifically refer to Cucumis melo, commonly known as the "true melon" or simply "melon". The term "melon" can apply to both the plant and its fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a "pepo".
The name "winter melon" that is sometimes given to this plant is based on the Chinese name dōngguā (冬瓜); however, the character 瓜 (guā) can also mean "gourd" or "squash". [11] It is likely that the name "melon" is given because this gourd is sometimes candied or made into a sweet tea.
Its species name ("bad-smelling") refers to its unpleasant smell. It was previously named M. morkorra (A. Rich) [1] and M. cordata (Cogn.) [2] The plant grows in forest edges and similar habitats (including disturbed and cultivated land), woodland, and wooded grassland. Its leaves are wrinkled, heart-shaped with irregular edges, up to 18 cm wide.
Plants have unisexual male or female flowers that are white or yellow and borne on 40-millimetre-long (1 + 1 ⁄ 2 in) hairy stalks. Each flower grows singly in the leaf axils, and the species' sexual system, with male and female flowers produced on each plant, is monoecious. The male flowers predominate at the beginning of the season; the ...