Snake Gourd seed Trichosanthes anguina
LATIN NAME: Trichosanthes anguina
COMMON NAME: Snake Gourd
The snake gourd is the serpent of the vegetable garden, and the long, twisted fruits hang from the trellis like the green snakes of the old tale. The vigorous, climbing, annual plant carries the deeply lobed leaves and the white, fringed flowers that open at night through the warm season, to be followed by the very long, slender, twisted fruits, pale green and often a metre long, with the firm, white flesh. The young fruits have a long record as the fine, tender green of the warm kitchens, and the plant is a fine, curious presence of the warm garden. It is a plant of the open, sunny, deep, rich, well-drained ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The snake gourd is a curious, fruitful subject of the plant science, and the long, twisted fruits keep showing up in the work on the cucurbit group. The way the fruits grow so long and the flowers open at night has been examined closely, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the night-flowering cucurbits, the tropical gourds and the members of the gourd family. The deeply lobed leaves and the vigorous, climbing habit have also made it a fine study plant, and the snake gourd is a regular subject of the work on the long gourds of the warm world.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
The snake gourd is a fine, curious plant of the warm vegetable garden. The very long, slender, twisted fruits hang from the trellis like the green snakes of the old tale, and the young fruits have a long record as the fine, tender green of the warm kitchens, sliced into the stir-fries and the curries. The white, fringed flowers open at night, drawing the night moths, and the plant is one of the fine choices for the warm garden, the trellis bed and the curious border. It has been written about in the culinary and the botanical papers for the long fruits and the night flowers, and it is a fine, generous plant of the open, sunny, deep, rich, well-drained garden.
The snake gourd is one of the curious gourds of the warm garden, and the white, fringed flowers open at night. The young fruits slice into the stir-fries and the curries of the warm kitchens.
To grow the snake gourd from seed, sow the small, flat seeds a centimetre down in a tray of damp, free-draining soil, keep the tray in a warm, bright spot and water gently, then set the young plants out after the last frosts. The seedlings show themselves within a week and climb fast. With the sun, the warmth and the deep, rich ground, the long fruits will hang from the trellis through the warm season.
Common name:Trichosanthes cucumerina seeds
Uses: Culinary/Medicinal
(Serpent gourd) An unusual cucumber with long, white speckled fruits that actually resemble snakes. Widely grown as a vegetable in India and the Orient. Roots and seeds are used to expel worms and to treat diarrhea and syphilis. Start in pots indoors for outdoor planting, in a warm sheltered place.