Japanese Snake Gourd (Trichosanthes ovigera)

Japanese Snake Gourd (Trichosanthes ovigera)
Wikimedia Commons — mrhayata — CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)

At a glance

Lifecycle
Perennial (hardy)
Exposure
Full sun
Frost limit
−1.1 °C

Cultivation

Requires a rich well-drained soil and plenty of moisture in the growing season. Plants are not hardy in Britain and normally require greenhouse cultivation.

Propagation

Seed - sow March in pots in a warm greenhouse in a rich soil. Sow 2 - 3 seeds per pot and thin to the strongest plant. Grow them on fast and plant out after the last expected frosts. Give some protection, such as a frame or cloche, until the plants are growing away well.

Edible uses

An edible starch is obtained from the root. The immature fruit is preserves in miso or salt. We have no record of the seed being edible, though there is no reason to believe that it should not be[K]. Like the edible seeds of many members of this plant family, the seed is eaten in the Orient as a vermifuge.

Medicinal uses

Diuretic. The seed is vermifuge. The root is anodyne, antiphlogistic, blood purifier, depurative, febrifuge and resolvent. The fruit is used to treat coughs, diabetes, jaundice etc.

Material uses

The dried fruit is a soap substitute.

Habitat

Fertile and damp places in mountain wilds in China.

Native range

E. Asia - China, Japan.

Same genus