Momordica.'] CUCURBITACEAE. 531 



A very slender climber with yellow flowers and membranous 

 leaves, the seeds oblong, truncate at the ends. 



3. Momordica, Linn. 



Climbing annual or perennial herbs ; tendrils simple. Leaves 

 entire, lobed or pedately 3-7-foliolate. Flowers yellow or white, 

 monoecious or dioecious, the $ solitary or racemed, the $ solitary ; 

 bracts present or 0, usually on the peduncle. CaZ?/aj-tube short, 

 campanulate ; lobes 5, ovate. Petals 5, shortly connate below, 

 the corolla rotate or campanulate. Stamens 3, rarely 2; filaments 

 short; anthers at length free, 1 1-celled, the others 2-celled, 

 the cells conduplicate or rarely horsesh oe- shaped ; in f flowers 

 staminodes or of 3 glands. Ovary oblong, 1-celled ; ovules 

 many, horizontal, on 3 vertical placentas ; style long ; stigmas 3 ; 

 in ^ flowers pistillode or glandular. Fruit an oblong or 

 spherical, smooth or rough berry or a 3-valved capsule. Seeds 

 many or few, obovate or flattened, smooth or variously sculptured. 



Male flowers solitary : 



Flowers monoecious ; flower-peduncles bracteate at the middle or 

 near the base ; leaves orbicular-reniform, deeply pedately 5-7-lobed ; 

 fruit fusiform, rostrate, tuberculate ; seeds compressed, subrectan- 



gular, rugose on the faces 1. Charantia. 



Flowers dioecious ; bract near the top of the peduncle : 

 Petioles without glands : 



Calyx-lobes linear -lanceolate, acute; leaves ovate, cordate, 

 entire or somewhat 3-5-lobed ; fruit ellipsoid with soft spines 



2. dioica. 



Calyx-lobes ovate-oblong, obtuse ; leaves broadly ovate, deeply 

 cordate, entire or somewhat 3-5-lobed ; fruit ellipsoid, densely 



softly echinate 3 . subangulata. 



Petioles glandular ; calyx -lobes lanceolate, acute ; leaves large, 

 palmate, cordate, usually 3- lobed; fruit ovoid with raised points 



4. cochinchinensis. 



Male pedimcles 2-5-flowered ; flowers monoecious ; bract at the top 

 of the peduncle in , near the middle in ? ; calyx-lobes lanceolate, 

 acute ; leaves orbicular, reniform, deeply cordate, shortly 5-7-lobed ; 

 fruit pyriform or fusiform ; seeds broadly ovoid, smooth ...5. tuberosa. 

 Male peduncles many-flowered ; flowers dioecious ; bract very small, 

 towards the base of the peduncle in ? , near the middle in <J ; calyx- 

 lobes lanceolate ; leaves ovate-cordate, denticulate, about 4 in. by 



