Gynostemma CUCURBITACEAE Lvffa 



DD. Staminate fls. axillary, not always solitary. 

 Tendrils branched. 



Lvs. not deeply cleft : fls. white 4 . Lagenaria 



Lvs. pinnatifid: fls. light yellow 5. Citrullvs 



Tendrils and lvs. simple 6 . Cucumis 



BB. Fr. pod-like, bladdery or fleshy, or berry-like mostly inedible. 



E. Petals fimbriate, white 7 . Trichosanthes 



EE. Petals or corolla not fimbriate, mostly yellow. 



F. Peduncle bearing a shield-shaped bract 8. Momordica 



FF. Peduncle naked. 



Fr. a conical circumscissile capsule 9. Actinostemma 



Fr. ovoid or nearly globular, indehiscent. 



Stamens 3; anther cells straight: fr. 1-2 cm. long .... 10. Melothvia 

 Stamens 5; anther cells curved: fr. 3-4 cm. long 11. Thladiantha 



1. Gynostemma Blume i£3clxs!i! (Chiao Ku Lan Shu) 

 A dioecious climbing herb with simple tendrils, pedate lvs. and small fls. in axillary- 

 panicles; corolla rotate; stamens 5; filaments connate below: fr. globose, the size of a 

 pea, indehiscent, with 1-3 verrucose seeds. 5 species, in southern and eastern Asia; 3 

 in China. (Greek: gyne, a female, and stemma, a crown; ovaries are crowned by the 

 permanent stigmas.) 



1. Gynostemma pedata Blume licKIi (Chiao Ku Lan; Tangled-stem-blue) (H.F.2:633). 

 Climbing herb; fls. greenish, VII-VIII; fr. VIII-IX. Southeastern Asia; locally in 

 An., Hup., Ki. Cliffs, ravines. 



2. Cucurbita Linn. Squash i^'JIvK (Nan Kua Shu) 



Coarse hispid annual monoecious vines with cordate 5-angled or -lobed lvs. and 

 large solitary yellow fls.; calyx and corolla campanulate, the petals clearly united; 

 ovary one-celled, with 3-5 placentae: fr. fleshy, with a firm rind, edible. 10 species, 

 supposedly American; one cultivated in China. (The Latin name for Gourd.) 



1. Cucurbita pepo Linn. Field Pumpkin p^ffi (Nan Kua; Southern Squash) (B.M. 952). 

 Trailing annual; fls. yellow, petals clearly united, VII-VIII; fr. VIII-IX. American; 

 locally in An., Ki., Ku. Cultivated, vegetable. Fig. 358. 



3. Luffa Linn. Vegetable Sponge $&rRf| (Ssu Kua Shu) 

 Coarse monoecious annual vines with cordate 5-7-lobed or -angled lvs. and yellow 

 fls. ; the pistillate solitary; the staminate in racemes; petals distinct; anthers free: fr. 

 3-celled, at first fleshy and edible, becoming dry. 8 species, in the eastern tropics; 2 

 in China. (From luff, the Arabic name.) 



Key to the Species 



Lvs. not deeply lobed: ovary club-shaped, not tomentose, ribbed and 



angled 1 . L. acutangula 



Lvs. deeply cleft: ovary cylindrical and tomentose, not ribbed 2. L. cylindrica 



1. Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb. (B.M. 953). Climbing annual; fls. yellow, VII-IX; fr. 

 IX. Eastern tropics; locally in Ku. Cultivated, fruit. Fig. 359. 



380 



