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Magnoliopsida
Momordica charantia L.
EOL Text
Annual, monoecious, climber or trailer with unbranched tendrils. Stem glabrous or hairy. Leaves suborbicular to orbicular, 5-10(-12) cm long and broad, mucronate-dentate, deeply 5-7-lobed, lobes ovate-oblong or ovate-elliptic, glabrous or pubescent, acute, base constricted. Petiole 1.5-3.5 (-6) cm long, villous. Flowers yellow, c. 3 cm across, solitary, male peduncles c. 7.0 cm long, bearing the bracts about the middle or below the middle. Calyx pubescent. Corolla slightly zygomorphic, with obovate, obtuse lobes. Ovary fusiform, muricate. Fruit oblong-fusiform or oval, 7-25 cm long, dehiscent. Seeds oblong, 1-1.5 cm long, 6-9 mm broad, embedded in red pulp, sculptured.
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Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=200022698 |
The plant is extensively cultivated during the warm. season for its fruits which although bitter are used as a vegetable; they are considered tonic, stomachic and carminative, they are used in rheumatism, gout and diseases of liver and spleen. The immature fruit is very commonly eaten during epidemics of small-pox as it is supposed to have a preventive effect.
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Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=200022698 |
300-2100 m
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Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=110&taxon_id=200022698 |
Momordica charantia is a bitter melon eaten in as a vegetable in Asia. It is eaten raw and cooked and is believed to be good for skin. It is commonly found in Asian markets. It has also been shown to have effects in treating diabetes.
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Rights holder/Author | Amy Chang, Amy Chang |
Source | No source database. |
Momordica charantia L.
Bejuco herbáceo, rastrero o trepador mediante zarcillos axilares, que alcanza 8 m de largo. Tallos verdes, delgados, sub-cilíndricos, estriados, vellosos; zarcillos simples, 9-11 cm de largo. Hojas alternas; láminas 3-11 × 3-10 cm, 5-7-lobadas, membranáceas a cartáceas, el ápice obtuso o agudo, la base cordiforme, los márgenes profundamente ondulados o dentados; haz verde obscuro opaco, puberulento; envés verde amarillento, opaco, con la nervación prominente, puberulenta; pecíolos delgados, sulcados o levemente alados, vellosos, 3-6 cm de largo. Flores solitarias, axilares; pedúnculo alargado, con una bráctea foliosa más abajo de la mitad. Cáliz verde amarillento, campanulado, 10-12 mm de largo, con los lóbulos lanceolados; corola amarillo pálido, rotácea, ca. 3.5 cm de diámetro. Cápsula elipsoide-angular a fusiforme, muricada, 3-5 cm de largo, cambiando de verde a amarillo-anaranjado al madurar, dehiscente en el ápice por medio de 3 valvas; semillas colgantes, comprimidas, cubiertas por un arilo rojo y carnoso.
Fenología: Florece y fructifica todo el año.
Estatus: Exótica, naturalizada, muy común.
Comentario: Momordica charantia tiene por lo menos tres formas que se cultivan por sus frutos comestibles. Estos se conocen en inglés como “bitter melon” y “bitter gourd” y llegan a alcanzar hasta 60 cm de longitud. En Puerto Rico se encuentra naturalizada la forma silvestre no cultivada, aunque existe una colección (Sintenis 919) hecha en 1885, con frutos ca. 15 cm de largo, aparentemente a partir de una planta cultivada.
Especimenes Estudiados: Acevedo-Rdgz., P. 2678; 2734; 4671; Britton, N.L. 16; Goll, G.P. 60; 310; Heller, A.A. 153; 4458; Sargent, F.H. 123; Shafer, J.A. 2520; Sintenis, P. 726; 919; Stevenson, J.A. 97.
Momordica balsamina sensu Descort., non L.
Momordica charantia L., Sp. Pl. 1009. 1753.
Herbaceous vine, creeping or climbing by axillary tendrils, attaining 8 m in length. Stems green, slender, subcylindrical, striate, villous; tendrils simple, 9-11 cm long. Leaves alternate; blades 3-11 × 3-10 cm, 5-7-lobed, membranaceous to chartaceous, the apex obtuse or acute, the base cordiform, the margins deeply undulate or dentate; upper surface dark green, dull, puberulous; lower surface yellowish green, dull, with prominent venation, puberulous; petioles slender, sulcate or slightly winged, villous, 3-6 cm long. Flowers solitary, axillary; peduncle elongate, with a foliose bract below the middle. Calyx yellowish green, campanulate, 10-12 mm long, the lobes lanceolate; corolla pale yellow, rotate, ca. 3.5 cm in diameter. Capsule ellipsoid-angular to fusiform, muricate, 3-5 cm long, changing from green to yellow-orange when mature, dehiscent at the apex by 3 valves; seeds pendulous, compressed, covered by a red and fleshy aril.
Phenology: Flowering and fruiting throughout the year.
Status: Exotic, naturalized, very common.
Commentary: Momordica charantia has at least three forms that are cultivated for their edible fruits. These are known as “bitter melon” and “bitter gourd” and may attain up to 60 cm long. In Puerto Rico the wild form, not a cultivated one, is found, although there exists one collection (Sintenis 919), made in 1885, with fruits ca. 15 cm long, apparently from a cultivated plant.
Selected Specimens Examined: Acevedo-Rdgz., P. 2678; 2734; 4671; Britton, N.L. 16; Goll, G.P. 60; 310; Heller, A.A. 153; 4458; Sargent, F.H. 123; Shafer, J.A. 2520; Sintenis, P. 726; 919; Stevenson, J.A. 97.
Ásia e África
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Rights holder/Author | CPQBA/UNICAMP, IABIN |
Source | No source database. |
Set / Out
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Rights holder/Author | CPQBA/UNICAMP, IABIN |
Source | No source database. |
Fl. Per.: April-July.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=200022698 |