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Benincasa hispida - Kushmanda, Winter melon
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The winter melon, also called ash gourd, white gourd, winter gourd, tallow gourd Chinese preserving melon is a vine grown for its very large fruit, eaten as a vegetable when mature. It is the only member of the genus Benincasa. The fruit is fuzzy when young. The immature melon has thick white flesh that is sweet when eaten. By maturity, the fruit loses its hairs and develops a waxy coating, giving rise to the name wax gourd, and providing a long shelf life. The melon may grow as large as 80 cm in length. Although the fruit is referred to as a "melon," the fully grown crop is not sweet. Native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, the winter melon is widely grown throughout Asia.
Contents
Uses
summer fevers, painful wounds, vaginal discharges, coughs, intestinal abscesses, excessive thirst, epilepsy, gonorrhoea, nervous diseases
Parts Used
Flowers, fruits, Leaves, Seeds.
Chemical Composition
Vitamins - A: 0mg; Thiamine (B1): 4mg; Riboflavin (B2): 0.11mg; Niacin: 0.4mg; B6: 0mg; C: 13mg;[1]
Common names
| Language | Common name |
|---|---|
| Kannada | Boodagumbala, Boodu gumbala |
| Hindi | Pethaa |
| Malayalam | Kumbalanga |
| Tamil | Neer poosanikai, Pooshnikai |
| Telugu | |
| Marathi | NA |
| Gujarathi | NA |
| Punjabi | NA |
| Kashmiri | NA |
| Sanskrit | Kushmanda |
| English | Ash gourd, Ash pumpkin |
Habit
Identification
Leaf
| Kind | Shape | Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Simple | roundish | White gourd is a vine grown for its very large fruit, eaten as a vegetable |
Flower
| Type | Size | Color and composition | Stamen | More information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unisexual | 5-15 cm long | Yellow | 5-20 | densely hairy, lobes lanceolate, acute, 6-12 mm long. Petals spreading, blunt, but ending in a short point |
Fruit
| Type | Size | Mass | Appearance | Seeds | More information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| fuzzy | 7–10 mm (0.28–0.4 in.) long pome | the fruit loses its hairs and develops a waxy coating | its very large fruitWith hooked hairs | many | {{{6}}} |
Other features
List of Ayurvedic medicine in which the herb is used
- Vishatinduka Taila as root juice extract
Where to get the saplings
Mode of Propagation
How to plant/cultivate
Benincasa hispida is a plant of the tropics, and is also cultivated in the subtropics.[3]
Commonly seen growing in areas
Tall grasslands, meadows, Borders of forests and fields.
Photo Gallery
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References
External Links
- Pages that are stubs
- Ayurvedic Herbs known to be helpful to treat summer fevers
- Ayurvedic Herbs known to be helpful to treat painful wounds
- Ayurvedic Herbs known to be helpful to treat vaginal discharges
- Ayurvedic Herbs known to be helpful to treat coughs
- Ayurvedic Herbs known to be helpful to treat intestinal abscesses
- Ayurvedic Herbs known to be helpful to treat excessive thirst
- Ayurvedic Herbs known to be helpful to treat epilepsy
- Ayurvedic Herbs known to be helpful to treat gonorrhoea
- Ayurvedic Herbs known to be helpful to treat nervous diseases
- Herbs with Flowers used in medicine
- Herbs with fruits used in medicine
- Herbs with Leaves used in medicine
- Herbs with Seeds used in medicine
- Herbs with common name in Kannada
- Herbs with common name in Hindi
- Herbs with common name in Malayalam
- Herbs with common name in Tamil
- Herbs with common name in Sanskrit
- Herbs with common name in English
- Habit - Annual Climber
- Index of Plants which can be propagated by Seeds
- Index of Plants which can be propagated by Cuttings
- Herbs that are commonly seen in the region of Tall grasslands
- Herbs that are commonly seen in the region of meadows
- Herbs that are commonly seen in the region of Borders of forests and fields
- Herbs
