Momordica balsamina L. (Tropical & S. Africa, SW. Arabian Peninsula, Australia: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Caprivi Strip, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, New South Wales, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Northern Territory, Queensland, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Somalia, South Australia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Western Australia, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe; Introduced into: Alabama, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Florida, Haiti, India, Leeward Is., Louisiana, Mexico Northwest, Nepal, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Peru, Puerto Rico, Texas, Tuamotu, Tunisia, Windward Is. as per POWO)
  


(Images by Rajesh Sachdev & (Muthu Karthick – Id by Gurcharan Singh), (For more photos & complete details, click on the links))

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(Images by (Surajit Koley – Id by J.M.Garg as per discussions in another thread), (For more photos & complete details, click on the link))

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The Cucurbitaceae of India: Accepted names, synonyms, geographic distribution, and information on images and DNA sequences by Susanne S. Renner, Arun K. Pandey. (2013)-
Accepted names:
Momordica balsamina L.
Momordica charantia L.
Momordica cochinchinensis (Lour.) Spreng.
Momordica cymbalaria Fenzl ex Naudin
Momordica denudata (Thwaites) C.B. Clarke
Momordica dioica Roxb. ex Willd.
Momordica sahyadrica Kattuk. & V.T.Antony
Momordica subangulata Blume

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Binomial Habit Notes Ref. Distrib.
Momordica
charantia
L. var. charantia 
Twiner Plains to Low
Altitude, Cultivated, Naturalized
Flora of Tamil
Nadu, VOL. I, 1983
All districts
Momordica charantia L. var. muricata (Willd.) Chakravarty is a synonym of Momordica charantia L. Herb Plains
to Low Altitude, Cultivated, Naturalized
Flora
of Tamil Nadu, VOL. I, 1983
All
districts
Momordica cymbalaria Hook.f. Herb Plains
on Black Cotton Soil
Flora
of Tamil Nadu, VOL. I, 1983
Coimbatore,
Ramanatha puram, Thoothu kkudi, Tirunelveli
Momordica dioica Roxb. ex Willd. Climber Plains
to Low Altitude, also Cultivated
Flora
of Tamil Nadu, VOL. I, 1983
Salem,
Theni, Tiruchchira ppalli, Tiruvanna malai, Viluppuram
Momordica subangulata Blume Climber Western
Ghats, Dry Deciduous Forests
K.Ravikumar,
1999
Dindigul  

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Botanical name Synonyms Family Common name
Momordica charantia Momordica zeylanica Cucurbitaceae Bitter Gourd
Momordica cochinchinensis Cucurbitaceae Chinese Cucumber
Momordica dioica Cucurbitaceae Ban Karela

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Production and preliminary characterization of inter-specific hybrids derived from Momordica species by L. K. Bharathi,*, A. D. Munshi, T. K. Behera, Vinod, K. Joseph John, A. B. Das, K. V. Bhat and A. S. Sidhu- CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 103, NO. 2, 25 JULY 2012


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Momordica by T. K. Behera, K. Joseph John, L. K. Bharathi, R. Karuppaiyan- Wild Crop Relatives: Genomic and Breeding Resources 2011,  pp 217-246-
Abstract : Species of Momordica are being grown in wild and/or cultivated forms all over the tropical part of the world. Their cultivation is restricted to specialized geographical pockets in different agrogeographical regions mainly by tribals and poor farming communities. The wild species offer great resources for breeding of cultivated bitter gourd for desirable edible/qualitative traits, tolerance of abiotic stresses, and resistance to several insect pests. The identification and incorporation of resistance to economically important pests such as fruit fly and various foliar pathogens is important for bitter gourd production. Genes for resistance to several crop-limiting pests and pathogens are, however, not found in the cultivated M. charantia var. charantia. Observations on in situ conservation in forest habitats indicate the possibility of setting up genetic reserves for various Momordica species in India. Besides, the indigenous traditional knowledge related to the cultivation and uses of these traditional vegetables are also at the risk of getting lost at household and community level. Considering their potential nutraceutical values, these traditional vegetables could contribute in a major way to the food security and balanced diets of rural households and possibly urban households as well. However, further research on other aspects such as nutritional profile and bioavailability, genetic improvement, and better cultivation practices is necessary.

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Momordica genus in Asia – An Overview By L.K. Bharathi, K Joseph John (2013)- Details


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Species in India:

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Species in India:
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Flora of Davanagere District, Karnataka, India By B. K. Manjunatha, V. Krishna, T. Pullaiah (2004)- Details with keys
Momordica dioica
Momordica cymbalaria Fenzl ex Naudin

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Vegetables edited by G. J. H. Grubben 92004)- Details-

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Biodiversity in India, Volume 4 edited by T. Pullaiah (2006)- Details-

Flora of Medak District, Andhra Pradesh, India By T. Pullaiah, Chintala Prabhakar, B. Ravi Prasad Rao (1998)- Details with keys
Momordica charantia
Momordica dioica


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Flora of Ranga Reddi District Andhra Pradesh, India By T. Pullaiah, M. Silar Mohammed (2000)- Details with keys
Momordica charantia
Momordica dioica


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Momordica ‎(Cucurbitaceae) : 2 posts by 1 author.

I have updated eFI (efloraofindia) page on Momordica (Pl. click).

Attempts have been made to incorporate most of the species available in India & nearby areas with details & keys directly or through links as far as possible. It’s quite possible that there may be some discrepancy in the accepted names & synonyms taken from other links.

Species discussed so far in efloraofindia are given at the bottom of the page in the form of links against Subpages. On clicking them one can see all the details.

If someone can provide complete list of Indian species with source references it will be wonderful.

Any comments/ corrections are welcome.


I am sharing my photo of Momordica cochinchinensis from NBPGRI, Thrissur. Attachments (2)


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Pl. go through Momordica (‎‎‎‎Cucurbitaceae) page with images of species (mainly done by …) in efloraofindia.

If you find any mis-identification, pl. let us know. If anybody can send images of other species of this genera (for incorporation in the website), if any, it will be really nice.
Also, if anybody is interested to take up the activity of inserting images on efloraofindia pages from efloraofindia posts, pl. let us know.