Author: |
Curt Polycarp J. Sprengel, 1826 |
Family: |
CUCURBITACEAE |
Origin: |
Assam, NE
Australia, Bangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia, China, East
Himalaya, India, Java, Laos, Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, New
Guinea, Philippines, Sulawesi + Sumatera; Indonesia,
Taiwan, Thailand, Tibet, Vietnam |
Soil: |
Mix - Rich |
Water:
|
Medium - Maximum |
Sun: |
Minimum - Medium |
Thickness: |
3 Centimetres |
Height: |
10 Metres |
Flower:
|
Pale
Yellow |
Propagate: |
Seeds |
Names:
|
Gac, Baby
Jackfruit, Spiny Bitter Gourd, Sweet Gourd, Cochinchin
Gourd, Chinese Bitter-Cucumber, Spiny Bitter-Cucumber |
Synonyms: |
Muricia
cochinchinensis Lour. 1790.
Momordica mixta Roxb.
1832.
Momordica macrophylla Gage, 1904.
Momordica
meloniflora Hand.-Mazz. 1921.
Momordica ovata, Cogn.
Momordica sphaeroidea, Blanco.
Momordica suringarii, Cogn.
Zucca commersoniana, Ser. |
This member of the Cucurbitaceae family was
given this name by Curt Polycarp Joachim Sprengel in 1826. It is found in
Taiwan, Bangladesh, China, India, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand,
Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Queensland; northern Australia. It
is growing in a rather rich soil with quite some water and little to
some sun. The flowers are pale yellow with a black centre. The
roots are tuberous, the size might not excide three centimetres in
diameter. The wines can
reach ten metres or more.
Grown for its dark
orange fruits that grow to 10-15 centimetres in diameter. It is
dioecious; either male- or female plants.
The name comes from Mordio:
'to
bite' after the bitten appearance of the seeds. The
species name derives from the Cochinchina region in the
northern
part of Viet Nam. |