Trichosanthes cordata

Trichosanthes cordata Roxb., Fl. Ind., ed. 1832 3: 703–704 1832. (syn: Anguina cordata (Roxb.) Kuntze; Involucraria cordata (Roxb.) M. Roem.; Trichosanthes microsiphon Kurz; Trichosanthes tuberosa Roxb. ex Wight & Arn. (ambiguous synonym));
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SE-Tibet, India, peninsular Malaysia, Myanmar [Burma] (Bago), Darjeeling, Nepal, Bangladesh as per Catalogue of Life;
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Climber; root tuberous; stem robust, angular, ribbed, glabrous or sparsely puberulent. Leaves simple, alternate, spiral; petioles ca. 3-6 cm long; lamina ca. 7-18 x 7-10 cm, broadly cordate-ovate, cordate at base, acuminate at apex, margin dentate-serrate, chartaceous; secondary nerves 3-5 pairs; tendrils 2-3-fid, robust, sulcate, puberulous. Flowers ca. 3.5-4 cm across, yellow; Male flowers ca. 10-20 cm long, 2-4-flowered racemes; bracts obovate, hairy; calyx tube ca. 3.5 cm long; Female flowers subsessile, solitary. Fruits ca. 4-4.5 cm in diam., white banded, globose, shiny red. Seeds ca. 1.2 x 0.5 cm, subquadrangular.
In secondary forests, on bushes; 400-600 m.
Bhutan, India (West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh), Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Singapore
(Attributions- French Institute of Pondicherry from India Biodiversity Portal)

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SK774 06 OCT-2017:ID : 8 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (8)

Location :  Way to Pokhara, Nepal 

Date : 14 August 2017
Altitude : 2200 ft.

Cucurbitaceae … ??

Very interesting. Pl. check comparative images at family page. 

I did.

Also I could not find any match at Cucurbitaceae 

Trichosanthes spp …???

There appears to be some possibility for Trichosanthes sp. going by bracts at Trichosanthes tricuspidata Lour.

However could not find a match as per comparative images available at Trichosanthes‎ and as per images below (based on Checklist of Nepal):
Tropical (Trichosanthes ovigera Images)

Yes, it is a Trichosanthes, but I would need to see a dried specimen to decide on the species.
It is very easy to dried a few leaves and flowers between newspaper and send them to me for identification. There is nothing that prohibits the exchange of material among international herbaria. I just wished my Indian colleagues would understand that. The only thing that will document (and thereby protect) the Indian flora for the future is specimens in herbaria, not photos.

Thank you for your concern. Unfortuntely I did not collect the specimen and it is very far from my place. May be I would collect next time when I pass through the area. By the way it is from Nepal.

Does any of the images shows matching bracts? 

Looks different.

I also think matches with specimen of Trichosanthes cordata Roxb. at GBIF as below:
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ID No. 25052011 RD02: Help to identify this wild climber

Date/Time- 25/5/2011- 1:20PM
Location- Place, Altitude, GPS- Assam,
Habitat- Garden/ Urban/ Wild/ Type- Wild Type
Plant Habit- Tree/ Shrub/ Climber/ Herb- Climber
Leaves Type/ Shape/ Size 7-12X5-8 cm
Flower- Raceme, White
Fruits Type/ Shape/ Size Seeds- not seen

Leaves remind me of Thladiantha cordifolia….. but not sure.

Pl check the details.

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Re: Climber with round fruit : 16 posts by 4 authors. 5 images.
Kumarghat, Tripura
Please identify

Some Siraitia sp. ??

I tried but could not find a match as per comparative images at Cucurbitaceae‎
However, I got the feeling that it may be some Cucumis species.
Is it wild or cultivated?
However, I tried all species of Cucumis reported from your area, as per The Cucurbitaceae of India: Accepted names, synonyms, geographic distribution, and information on images and DNA sequences by Susanne S. Renner, Arun K. Pandey. (2013), but could not find any match.
You did not tell whether it is wild or cultivated?
Only species of Siraitia found in India is Siraitia sikkimensis (West Bengal and Sikkim) as per
I could not find any specimen and photo on net for this species.
However, Siraitia grosvenorii may be cultivated. Pl. check if the seeds match at FOC illustration. I have doubts about this species though superficially it may be looking similar as per

https://www.amazon.com/Monksfruit-Siraitia-grosvenorii-Medicinal-Seed/dp/B01LZGV9X3

I always reply and I said it was not cultivated
The location is Pechartal,North Tripura near Mizoram and Bangladesh border.
I know monk fruit (Siraitia grosvenorii) which I tried to grow.
These pictures are collected from deep forests where there is no accessible roads.
Whatever I am sending, mostly they are wild.

Thladiantha hookeri or nearby!!

Thanks, …, I think looks different to this and other species as per

Zhiwutong (illustration)
Flora of China says Fruit oblong, 4-6 × 2-3 cm, smooth, rounded at both ends.

Fruit is different.

Any possibility of Thladiantha ziroensis Yanka H. & Arup K. Das though it

is very far from Ziro Valley!

May I request you to pl. confirm this as Thladiantha ziroensis as per your publication: Thladiantha ziroensis Yanka H. & Arup K. Das, sp. nov. (Cucurbitaceae) from Arunachal Pradesh, India


No, it does not look like Thladiantha to me. The shape of the seeds and the bifid tendrils point to Trichosanthes.

It might be Trichosanthes cordata Roxburgh (see attached illustration) even though the sinus of the leaf does not match.

With flowers, it would be easy to distinguish the two genera.

May be correct ! Shutterstock Shutterstock