Momordica clarkeana King

Species

Angiosperms > Cucurbitales > Cucurbitaceae > Momordica

Characteristics

Climber 6-8 m long, perennial; (sub)glabrous; dioecious. Leaves: petiole 2-8 cm long, at base often ± distorted on drying, without glands; blade unlobed, ovate in outline, 4-14 by 3-12 cm, without glands, base cordate, margin remotely dentate, apex acute-acuminate, short-mucronate. Flowers in male (solitary or) 2-4 fascicled, the fascicles subaxillary to reduced leaves, usually arranged in loose raceme-like lateral shoots to 10 cm long; petals pale yellow. Male flowers: peduncle (almost) absent; bract basal, spathulate, minute, 1-2 mm long, ± dentate, glandular; pedicel slender, 15-30 mm long; receptacle tube cup-shaped, c. 2 by 2.5 mm, brownish; sepals broadly ovate, c. 4 by (2-)3 mm, obtuse, brown, paler to the margin, glabrous, margin short-fimbriate; petals obovate-elliptic, c. 10 by 6 mm, apex obtuse (or subacute?), papillose-hairy; other details including androecium not investigated by lack of material. Female flowers not known. Fruit solitary (or rarely 2 per node), ripening orange or red, (broadly) ovoid, or pear-shaped, 4.5-7 by 3.5-5 cm, base and apex broadly rounded apex 2-3 mm beaked, smooth, glabrous or with few minute sharp tubercles; exocarp thin, hard-leathery; indehiscent; peduncle absent; bract not seen (absent?); fruiting pedicel (fruit stalk) slender, 3-5 cm long. Seeds few (c. 6), (black-)brown, elliptic or subcircular, thickish, 15-18 mm across; margin edges with c. 8 conspicuous undulations; faces sometimes sculptured.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support -
Foliage retention -
Sexuality dioecy
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 6.0 - 8.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 10-12

Usage

Uses -
Edible -
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) 14 - 21
Germination temperacture (C°) 18 - 23
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Distribution

Momordica clarkeana world distribution map, present in Malaysia

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:293417-1
WFO ID wfo-0000376908
COL ID 43YYY
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Momordica clarkeana