Trichosanthes CUCURBITACEAE Thladiantha 



Australia; 6 in China. (Greek: trichoma, hair; and anthos, flower; from the fimbriate 

 corolla lobes.) 



1. Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim. (T. palmata Hance) jg$| (Kua Lii; To-include- 

 thread) (H.F. 2:606; F.H.E. 1:313). Climbing herb; fls. white, VI-VII; fr. reddish, 

 VIII-IX. Southeastern Asia, Malaya, northern Australia; locally in An., Che., 

 Hun., Hup., Ki., Ku. Grassland, brushland. 



8. Momordica Linn. MM (K'u Kua Shu) 

 Herbaceous vines with cordate lvs. and yellow or white fls. ; the pistillate solitary 

 {the peduncle bearing a shield-shaped bract); the staminate sometimes racemose; corolla 

 cleft nearly to the base; anthers free: fr. rugose or spiny-tuberculate, dry and occasion- 

 ally dehiscent at maturity. 35 species, in tropical Asia and Africa; 2 in China. (Latin: 

 mordeo, to bite; because the seeds are sometimes jagged, as if bitten.) 



1. Momordica charantia Linn. Balsam Pear T*rU\ (K'u Kua; Bitter Squash) (B.M.956). 

 Climbing herb; fls. yellowish, VIII-IX; fr. IX-X. Eastern tropics; locally in An., 

 Hun., Ki., Ku. Cultivated, fruit. Fig. 363. 



9. Actinostemma Griff. &=?-^M (Ho Tzu Ts'ao Shu) 

 A weak climbing monoecious herb with simple or 2-fid tendrils, simple lvs. and 

 small fls. in lax axillary panicles; panicles often staminate, with a few pistillate fls, 

 near the base {the peduncle naked); calyx and corolla rotate and 5-parted; stamens 5. 

 free; connective dilated-pappilose on one side, with a narrow straight oblong anther 

 cell on the other; ovary one-celled: fr. ovoid-conical, half -superior, covered with rough 

 points, circumscissile above the middle; seeds corrugated, with denticulate margin. 6 or 

 more species in Asia; 6 in China. 



1. Actinostemma lobatum Maxim. MMft-T^- (Lieh Yeh Ho Tzu Ts'ao; A-pair-of- 

 lobed-leaves Herb) (Mak.F.93). Climbing herb; fls. greenish, VIII-IX; fr. brownish, 

 IX-X. Eastern Asia; locally in An., Ki., Ku. Grassland, brushland. 



10. Melothria Linn. HffifcfeM ( Ma P ' a ^rh Shu) 

 Monoecious slender climbing herbs with deltoid-ovate lvs. and small mostly clustered 

 fls.; corolla deeply 5-parted; stamens 3: fr. ovoid or nearly globular, small, glabrous 

 or warty, indehiscent. 70 species, in warm countries; 3 in China. (From the Greek 

 name of a kind of wild grape.) 

 1. Melothria indica Lour. (M.F.456). Climbing herb; fls. whitish, IX; fr. X. South- 

 eastern Asia; locally in Che., Ki. Brushland, woodland. Fig. 364. 



11. Thladiantha Bunge if^EM (Ch'ing Niu Tan Shu; Calf-gall-bladder Genus) 

 Dioecious climbing herbs with usually simple tendrils, entire or 3-parted lvs., and 

 yellow peduncled fls.; corolla campanulate, 5-parted; stamens 5, with one-celled anthers: 

 fr. ellipsoid to nearly globular, indehiscent, with vertical ribs; seeds many, smooth, 

 compressed. More than 10 species, in eastern Asia; 11 in China. (Greek: thladias, 

 eunuch, and anthos, flower; from Bunge's impression that the flowers are sterile.) 

 1. Thladiantha nudiflora Hemsl. (F.H.E.1:316). Climbing herb; fls. yellow, VI-IX; 

 fr. VIII-IX. Central and northern China; locally in An., Hup., Ki., Ku. Grassland, 

 brushland. 



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