Solena heterophylla Lour.

Species

Angiosperms > Cucurbitales > Cucurbitaceae > Solena

Characteristics

Roots fusiform, 1.5-2 cm in diam. Stem and branches glabrous. Petiole slender, 4-10 mm, puberulent at first, glabrescent; leaf blade very variable, ovate, oblong, ovate-triangular, or hastate, undivided or 3-5-lobed, leathery; lobes oblong-lanceolate, lanceolate, or triangular, 8-12 × 1-5 cm, abaxially densely setose or almost glabrous, adaxially densely setose or scabrous, base cordate, margin entire or dentate, apex obtuse or acuminate. Tendrils slender. Male flowers umbellate or subumbellate; peduncle very short, apically 10-20-flowered; pedicels 2-8 mm; calyx tube 3-5 mm, ca. 3 mm in diam.; segments subulate, 0.2-0.4 mm; corolla yellow or yellow-white; segments triangular, 1-1.5 mm, apex obtuse or acute; filaments filiform, ca. 3 mm; anther cells curved or conduplicate, puberulent. Female flowers usually solitary; pedicel 2-10 mm, puberulent; calyx and corolla as in male flowers; ovary ovoid, 2.5-3.5 × 2-3 mm; stigmas 3. Fruit red-brown, broadly ovoid, oblong, or subglobose, 2-6 × 2-5 cm. Seeds gray-white or gray-brown, suborbicular or obovate, 5-7 × 5-6.5 mm, smooth or slightly tuberculate. Fl. May-Aug, fr. Jun-Nov.
More
A pumpkin family plant. It is a climber which keeps growing from year to year. The leaves have stalks. The leaves are 3.5-17 cm long by 2-14 cm cm wide. They have 3-5 lobes and sometimes deep teeth along the edge. The tendrils can be simple or branched. The flowers are yellow. The fruit are bright red. They are oval.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support climber
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality dioecy
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 2.0 - 6.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

A tropical plant. In Nepal it grows between 600-3000 m altitude. In Yunnan in China it grows below 1300 m altitude in secondary forest.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

The ripe fruit are eaten fresh. Unripe fruit are also eaten. They are eaten as a vegetable. The roots are boiled and eaten. The leaves are cooked and eaten.
Uses food medicinal
Edible fruits leaves roots
Therapeutic use Antidote(Semecarpus) (unspecified), Dysuria (unspecified), Fainting (unspecified), Labor (unspecified), Otitis (unspecified), Paralysis (unspecified), Purgative (unspecified), Scrofula (unspecified), Sore (unspecified), Spermatorrhea (unspecified), Syphilis (unspecified), Ache(Ear) (unspecified), Adenopathy (unspecified), Gonorrhea (unspecified), Stimulant (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seed.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Solena heterophylla unspecified picture

Distribution

Solena heterophylla world distribution map, present in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:294045-1
WFO ID wfo-0001225322
COL ID 4Y5QX
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Bryonia rheedei Bryonia sagittata Zehneria heterophylla Karivia rheedei Melothria ovata Melothria heterophylla Solena heterophylla subsp. heterophylla Solena heterophylla Melothria marginata var. heterophylla

Lower taxons

Solena heterophylla subsp. napaulensis