Japanese name: ヘビウリ（蛇瓜） Scientific name:Trichosanthes anguina
[Overview]
A climbing annual.
The vines grow to about 3–5 m and have ridges.
They cling to other objects with tendrils.
Leaves are alternate, ovate-cordate to reniform-cordate, usually 5-lobed (or 3–7-lobed).
The plant is monoecious; male flowers are borne in racemes from the leaf axils, and female flowers are solitary in the leaf axils.
The flowers are white, and the corolla is usually 5-lobed, with the margins split lacelike and spreading.
The fruit is very long and slender, a winding cylindrical berry 30–200 cm long and 3–4 cm across, whitish green with lengthwise stripes, turning orange to red when ripe.
[History]
Thought to be native to India, it arrived in Japan at the end of the Meiji period.
[Uses]
The young fruit is edible.
The new shoots, vines and leaves are also used as vegetables.
The leaves, roots and seeds are used medicinally.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed.
It prefers a sunny, airy, well-drained, fertile soil.
Because it bears long fruit, it is best grown on a trellis, like the Hechima or Hyotan.
Take care not to overwater; water thoroughly when the soil surface dries.
It grows vigorously, is robust and is easy to grow.
