Trichosanthes cucumerina
Encyclopedia
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 shoot
s, tendril
s, and leaves
are also eaten as greens
.
Vine
A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...
, raised for its strikingly long fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
, used as a vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
, 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
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
, purla in Sambalpuri language, potlakaaya (పొట్లకాయ) in Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
, pathola(පතෝල) in Sinhala, pudalankaai (புடலங்காய்) in Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, dhunduli in Assamese
Assamese language
Assamese is the easternmost Indo-Aryan language. It is used mainly in the state of Assam in North-East India. It is also the official language of Assam. It is also spoken in parts of Arunachal Pradesh and other northeast Indian states. Nagamese, an Assamese-based Creole language is widely used in...
, 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:
- Trichosanthes cucumerina var. anguina (L.) Haines – cultivated variant
- Trichosanthes cucumerina var. cucumerina – wild variant
The narrow, soft-skinned fruit can reach 150 cm long. Its soft, bland, somewhat mucilaginous
Mucilage
Mucilage is a thick, gluey substance produced by most plants and some microorganisms. It is a polar glycoprotein and an exopolysaccharide.It occurs in various parts of nearly all classes of plant, usually in relatively small percentages, and is frequently associated with other substances, such as...
flesh is similar to that of the luffa
Luffa
The luffa, loofah, or lufah are tropical and subtropical vines comprising the genus Luffa, the only genus of the subtribe Luffinae of the plant family Cucurbitaceae...
and the calabash
Calabash
Lagenaria siceraria , bottle gourd, opo squash or long melon is a vine grown for its fruit, which can either be harvested young and used as a vegetable, or harvested mature, dried, and used as a bottle, utensil, or pipe. For this reason, the calabash is widely known as the bottle gourd...
. It is most popular in the cuisine of South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
.
The shoot
Shoot
Shoots are new plant growth, they can include stems, flowering stems with flower buds, and leaves. The new growth from seed germination that grows upward is a shoot where leaves will develop...
s, tendril
Tendril
In botany, a tendril is a specialized stem, leaf or petiole with a threadlike shape that is used by climbing plants for support, attachment and cellular invasion by parasitic plants, generally by twining around suitable hosts. They do not have a lamina or blade, but they can photosynthesize...
s, and leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are also eaten as greens
Leaf vegetable
Leaf vegetables, also called potherbs, green vegetables, greens, leafy greens or salad greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots...
.