Coccinia grandis

(Linnaeus) Voigt

Hort. Suburb. Calcutt., 59. 1845.

Common names: Scarlet gourd
IllustratedIntroduced
Basionym: Bryonia grandis Linnaeus Mant. Pl. 1: 126. 1767
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 6. Treatment on page 45. Mentioned on page 4.

Vines climbing, widely spreading, sometimes prostrate. Stems glabrous or glabrate, sometimes rooting at nodes. Leaves: petiole 1–5 cm; blade 5–10 × 4–9 cm, base cordate with broad sinus, apex acute, mucronate, adaxial surface with 3–8 glands. Peduncles 1–5 cm. Flowers: sepals recurved, 2–5 mm; petals 15–20 mm, apices acute to obtuse-apiculate. Pepos 2.5–6 cm. Seeds 6–8 mm, aril red to red-orange. 2n = 24.


Phenology: Flowering May–Nov.
Habitat: Trash dumps, thickets, fencerows, cypress swamps
Elevation: 0–30 m

Distribution

V6 72-distribution-map.jpg

Introduced; Fla., Tex., e Africa, introduced also in Asia (China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Thailand, Vietnam), Pacific Islands, Australia.

Discussion

The shoot tips and immature fruits of Coccinia grandis are used in Asian and Indian cooking; long-range dispersal is often the result of introduction by humans. It sometimes has been misidentified as C. cordifolia (Linnaeus) Cogniaux.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Coccinia grandis"
Guy L. Nesom +
(Linnaeus) Voigt +
Bryonia grandis +
Scarlet gourd +
Fla. +, Tex. +, e Africa +, introduced also in Asia (China +, India +, Indonesia +, Malaysia +, Pakistan +, Thailand +, Vietnam) +, Pacific Islands +  and Australia. +
0–30 m +
Trash dumps, thickets, fencerows, cypress swamps +
Flowering May–Nov. +
Hort. Suburb. Calcutt., +
Illustrated +  and Introduced +
Coccinia grandis +
Coccinia +
species +