Trichosanthes pilosa

Trichosanthes pilosa is a tropical or semitropical vine bearing an edible fruit. It is native to Japan, Taiwan, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Xizang (Tibet), Zhejiang) and other parts of southeast Asia as well as in Australia.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} It is known in English as Japanese snake gourd^{[note 1]}.

Japanese snake gourd
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Cucurbitales
Family:	Cucurbitaceae
Genus:	Trichosanthes
Species:	T. pilosa
Binomial name
Trichosanthes pilosa (Ser.) Maxim in Franch. & Sav.
Synonyms[1]
Anguina cucumeroides (Ser.) Kuntze Anguina dicoelosperma (C.B.Clarke) Kuntze Anguina hearnii (F.Muell. ex Benth.) Kuntze Anguina himalensis (C.B.Clarke) Kuntze Anguina horsfieldii (Miq.) Kuntze Anguina ovigera (Blume) Kuntze Anguina pilosa (Lour.) Kuntze Bryonia cucumeroides Ser. Platygonia himalensis Naudin ex C.B.Clarke Platygonia kaempferi Naudin Trichosanthes ascendens C.Y.Cheng & C.H.Yueh Trichosanthes boninensis Nakai Trichosanthes cavaleriei H.Lév. Trichosanthes chinensis Ser. Trichosanthes chingiana Hand.-Mazz. Trichosanthes cucumeroides (Ser.) Maxim. ex Franch. & Sav. Trichosanthes cucumeroides var. cavaleriei (H.Lév.) W.J.Chang Trichosanthes cucumeroides var. dicoelosperma (C.B. Clarke) S.K. Chen Trichosanthes cucumeroides var. formosana (Hayata) Kitam. Trichosanthes cucumeroides var. hainanensis (Hayata) S.K.Chen Trichosanthes cucumeroides var. stenocarpa Honda Trichosanthes dicoelosperma C.B.Clarke Trichosanthes formosana Hayata Trichosanthes hainanensis Hayata Trichosanthes hearnii F.Muell. ex Benth. Trichosanthes himalensis C.B.Clarke Trichosanthes himalensis var. indivisa Chakrav. Trichosanthes holtzei F.Muell. Trichosanthes horsfieldii Miq. Trichosanthes mafuluensis Merr. & L.M.Perry Trichosanthes matsudae Hayata Trichosanthes okamotoi Kitam. Trichosanthes ovigera Blume Trichosanthes ovigera var. sikkimensis Kundu Trichosanthes pierrei Gagnep. Trichosanthes rostrata Kitam. Trichosanthes trichocarpa C.Y.Wu Trichosanthes vanoverberghii Merr.

The Japanese snake gourd (T. pilosa), is very similar in its vegetative characters to the more widespread "snake gourd", Trichosanthes cucumerina, the flower and leaves of the two species are very similar but the fruit of T. pilosa are round to egg-shaped, about 7 cm long and not resembling a snake.^[2]

Notes

1. Robinson and Decker-Walters (1997^[7]) p. 203-206: "Japanese snake gourd" preferred name for Trichosanthes ovigera, and Trichosanthes ovigera preferred definition for "japanese snake gourd".

References

1. The Plant List, Trichosanthes pilosa
2. Flora of China v 19 p 45, Trichosanthes cucumeroides
3. Merrill, Elmer Drew. 1914. Philippine Journal of Science. Section C, Botany. Manila, 9: 458, Trichosanthes vanoverberghii in the Philippines
4. Kundu. 1943. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 43: 382, Trichosanthes ovigera var. sikkimensis, in Sikkim
5. Blume, Carl Ludwig von. 1826. Bijdragen tot de Flora van Nederlandsch Indie 15: 934, Trichosanthes ovigera in Malaya
6. Miquel, Friedrich Anton Wilhelm. 1856. Flora van Nederlandsch Indie i. I. 677, Trichosanthes horsfieldii in Java
7. Robinson RW and DS Decker-Walters. 1997. Appendix: Common Cucurbit Names and their Scientific Equivalents. in: Cucurbits. CAB International, USA.