368 CUCUBBITACJEM, [Benincasa, 



464:; L. Bindaal, Hoxh. ; Fl. Ind. Hi, 717 ; Boyle III, 3I9.—Vern, Khaksi 

 (Oudh). 



Stems not extensively climbing, scalDrous-pilose at the nodes ; tendrils 2- 

 fid. Leaves 1-2 in. in diam., reniform-orbieular, entire or obscTirely 5- 

 angled or lobed, or deeply cut into 5 narrow sinnate pinnatifid denticu- 

 late segments, scabrons on both sides, pale-green ; petiole 1-2 in, Male 

 peduncles usaally paired, one 1-flowered, the other supporting a long 

 raceme. Flov.-ers small, white, usually dioecious, without bracts. Calyx- 

 teeth persistent. Stamens 3, two with 2-celled anthers. Peduncle of 

 solitary fern, flower very short. Fruit I5 in. long, ovoid, not ribbed, 

 densely covered with stiff ciliate bristles except at the operculate apex. 

 Seeds many, slightly scabrous. 



Dehra Dun, N. Oudh, Bundelkhand, Distrib. Sind, Gujarat, Bengal, 

 Burma ; also in Abyssinia and Trop. Africa. The bitter fruit is 

 considered to be a remedy for dropsy. 



Var. longistyla, Clarice in F. B. I. I.e. Cogn. I.e. 465. L. longistyla, Ed.geiv. 

 Male racemes shorter than the leaves. Spines of fruit fewer, glabrous 

 Banda (Edgeworth). Edgeworth remarks that the bitter fruits are sold 

 in bazars as a horse medicine. 



5. BENINCASA, Savi. ; Fl. Brit. Ind. ii, 616. 

 A large trailing or climbing gourd, softly hairy ; tendrils 2-fid. 

 Leaves cordate, reniform-obricular, niore or less deeply 5-lobed ; petiole 

 ■without glands. Floioers large, yellow, moncecious, all solitary, 

 without bracts. Male : Calyx-tube campanulate ; lobes 5, leaflike, 

 serrate. 'Petals 5, nearly separate, obovate. Stamens 3, inserted near 

 the mouth of the tube ; anthers exsert, free, one 1-celled, two 2-celled, 

 cells sigmoid. Female : Calyx and corolla as in the male. Ovary 

 oblong, densely hairy ; style thick, with 3 flexuose stigmas ; ovules 

 numerous, horizontal ; placentas 3. Fruit large, fleshy, oblong, 

 pubescent, indehsicent. Seeds many, oblong, compressed, margined. — 

 A single species. 



B. hispida, Cogn. in DC. Mon. Phan., Hi, 513 ; DC. L'Orig. PI. Cult, 

 213. Cucurbita Pepo, Lour. ; Boxh. Fl. Ind. Hi, 718 {not of Linn.) Benin- 

 easa cerifera, Savi ; W. Sf A. Prod. 844 ; F. B. I. ii, 616 ; Field 6f Gard. 

 Crops part ii, 43, t. XLV ; Watt E.D. — v'ern. Petha (Saharanpur), Kumhra 

 (Cawnpore), Kundha (Allahabad). The white gourd-melon. 



Stems stout, angular, hispid. Leaves 4*6 in. in diam., hispid beneath j 

 petiole o-4l in. Male peduncle 3-4 in. ; female peduncle shorter. Calyx- 

 teeth when young often narrow and scarcely serrate. Filaments angular, 

 hispid at the base. Fruit 1-1^ ft. long, broadly cylindric, not ribbed, 

 hairy, ultimately covered with a waxy bloom. 



Sparingly cultivated within the area, and chiefly in highly manured vil- 

 lage land. It is grown also in the Punjab plain and in Bengal. The 

 fruit, which is very much like the pumpkin (Cucurbita Pepo), is often 



