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Momordica sahyadrica Kattuk. & V.T.Antony, Nordic J. Bot. 24: 541 2006 publ. 2007. ?;
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Tendrillar dioecious, perennial climbers, tuberous tap root fusiform when young, subglobose or irregularly bulged when mature, 10-18 x 5-10 cm; tendrils unbranched, 8-15 cm long, the basal 4-5 cm uncoiled. Leaves alternate, 10-16 x 8-18 cm, ovate or broadly triangular in outline, sometimes hastate, entire or 3-5 lobed, base deeply cordate, apex acute or acuminate, margin entire, undulate or coarsely crenulate, lateral veins 5-7 pairs, the lower pair running close to the margin of the basal sinus, hairs short, scattered, white; petiole 3-8 cm long, 1-1.5 mm thick. Male flowers axillary, solitary or a loose fascicle of 5-7 flowers; peduncle 2-5 cm long, pedicels 0.8-1 cm long, subtended by a reniform bract, to 3 x 3 cm, margins cuccullate; sepals free, elliptic oblong, ca 1 x 0.6 cm, yellowish white at center and blackish purple at base and margins; petals free, obovate, ca 4 x 2.5 cm, bright yellow with a narrow greenish yellow base, veins prominent, three petals with a small tongue-like ciliate appendage near the base; stamens 3, two of them with a pair of anthers, the other with a single anther, yellowish orange, filaments up to 3 mm long, anthers 2-3 x 1-2 mm, extrorse, thecae dull black. Female flowers solitary, axillary; peduncle 0.5-2 cm long; pedicel up to 2 cm long, subtended either by a small rudimentary (1.3 x 0.5-5 mm) or reniform ca 2 x 2 cm bract; sepals green, persistent, lanceolate, 0.8-1.3 x 1-3 mm, acuminate, densely glandular hairy within and without; petals ca 4 x 2 cm, greenish yellow and ciliate at base; staminodes 5 (2+2+1), white, cylindrical, touching the style, alternating with sepals, protected by a spur at the base of petals; ovary oblong-ovoid, 1-1.5 x 0.3-0.5 cm, more or less densely clothed with soft papillae of ca 1 mm length; style ca 6 mm long, whitish yellow, stigma ca 4 x 9 mm, cushion-like, 3 lobed, each lobe again 2-lobed. Fruits broadly ellipsoid, or ovoid to fusiform, or with round base and rostrate apex, 5-7.5 x 3-4.2 cm, dark green, turning bright orange on ripening, densely clothed with soft short spines 2-4 mm long; pulp sweet when ripe, carmine red; seeds black, shining, round or slightly cogwheel-shaped, margin warty-dentate, sculptured on faces with irregular furrows and ridges, 6.2-7.7 x 5.4-6.9 mm, seed coat hard, brittle; endosperm oily, aromatica. Flowering and fruiting: June-October
Moist deciduous and semi-evergreen forests
Western Ghats (endemic)
(Attributions- Dr. N Sasidharan (Dr. B P Pal Fellow), Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi from India Biodiversity Portal)
. Have found similar plant that grows abundantly near OR outskirts of human habitat in the northern Western Ghats, … flowers profusely … ends up by OR after Ganesha festival. In some of the villages near Varai – Saphale, the flowers are used to adorn Goddess Gauri.
Incidentally, they call the plant – divali — perhaps because of the bright yellow flowers contrasting in the undercover of larger trees. … thus, could this be Luffa acutangula var. amara … http://www.flickr.com/search/Luffaacutangulavaramara
…, please wait for comments – my ID could be wrong. Thank you for the prompt reply.
I went through the link. Leaves are very much alike but i think the following points vary in the photographs
1. the fruit is much more spiney than bitter luffa.
2. the flowers of bitter luffa are seen in clusterswhile the flowers of this plant are solitary.
3. The flowers are also raised on a long stalk almost 5cm long as seen in the images attached.
I am attaching a few other images which i think may help Indeed …, the spiny fruit concerned me while responding. Many thanks for correcting my thought. A patient download of http://www.sbcollege.org/ResearchProjects.pdf illustrates a new species on the last page, Momordica sahyadrica Joseph & Antony. Could it be M. subangulata subsp. renigera as per discussions in another thread ? Please also check – http://www.plantillustrations.org/illustration.php?id_illustration=130024 Peduncles 1 flowered and bracts at the apex of peduncles is M. balsamina. solitary male flowers are also found in M. subangulata and M. cochinchinensis with enlarged bract near tip. M. balsamina would have ovary like M. charantia like ovary with distant tubercles. Tubercles here are somewhat spiny like M. subangulata. I hope male and female flowers were on different vines. … may please confirm. Many thanks … for further clarification.
Hoping … would tell us male and female flowers were on separate plants. I find it close to Momordica dioica Roxb. ex Willd. as per images herein. It seems to be M. Sahyadrica. However it may be M dioica also. If it’s m sahyadrica anthesis is in morning hrs if it’s m.dioica anthesis will be in evening hrs May I request you to pl. tell us when flowers started opening- in the morning or evening ?
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