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Trichosanthes cucumerina

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iTrichosanthes cucumerina
Image:Trichosanthes anguina.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Cucurbitales
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Genus: Trichosanthes
Species: T. cucumerina
Binomial name
Trichosanthes cucumerina
L.

Trichosanthes cucumerina is a tropical or subtropical vine, raised for its strikingly long fruit, used as a vegetable and for medicine. Other names include snake gourd, serpent gourd, chichinga, and padwal. In the South Indian state of Kerala, it is known as padavalanga.

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 shoots, tendrils, and leaves are also eaten as greens.

[edit] See also



[edit] External links

  • A recipe for cooking snake gourd (with photo).


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