MOMORDIOA CHARANTIA, Linn.' 



[n'cZe Plate LXIY]. 



Description. 



Varieties. 



Uses. 



Cultivation. 



Area. 



English, none ; Veenaculae, karela, kareli, karola; Sanscrit, susuvi.f 



Natural order Cucurhitacece, tribe Cucumerinece. Stems extensively climbing or trailing, much 

 branched, 4-angled, hairy, especially towards the extremities ; tendrils simple, slender, hairy. 

 Leaves on long petioles, sub-orbicular reniform, hairy below on the veins, bright green above, paler 

 beneath, thin and flaccid ; petioles somewhat laterally compressed, deeply furrowed on upper surface; 

 limb 1-3^ in. in diameter, pedately cut nearly to the base into 5-7 lobes ; lobes sub-pinnatifid nar- 

 rowed towards the base, each lobule ending in a mucro. Flowers monoecious, yellow. Male flower :— 

 peduncle long and slender, bracteate near the middle ; bracts reniform or orbicular cordate, entire, 

 mucronate, calyx tube tuberculate at the base ; segments 5, ovate, acute ; corolla 5 — partite nearly 

 to the base, segments obtuse or emarginate ; stamens 3, filaments short, anthers conduplicate. 

 Female flowers : — peduncle long and slender, bracteate near the base ; calyx and corolla as in the 

 male ; staminodes 3 ; ovary fusiform, muricate ; style short terminating in 3-bifid stigmas. Fruit 

 oval or fusiform, rostrate, 3-5 in., orange-coloured when ripe, 1-celled with three parietal placentas, 

 3-valved at the apex ; epicarp deeply tubercled, tubercles blunt or sharp. Seeds immex'sed 

 in a bright red pulpy aril, ^ in. long and a little over ^ in. broad and about ^ in. thick, brown, 

 •sculptured, and with two broad lighter coloured corrugated bands within the margin. 



This plant is cultivated all over India in the plains. 



There are several varieties differing in the size and shape of the fruit. The rainy 

 season kind, called kareli, has rather smaller fruits, and is more esteemed than that 

 of the hot weather variety, known in some districts under the name of karela. 



The fruit is eaten either raw or cooked in curries ; it has rather a bitter taste ; 

 when sliced and dried it remains good for many months. 



Regarding its cultivation the hot weather variety Mr. Gollan says J — 

 " Should be sown in the eud of February and all tlirough March in rich soil. The ground should be 

 " laid out in beds, and the seeds sown in lines 2 feet apart, and the same distance allowed between each seed. 

 " Water should be given twice a week until the ground is covered, afterwards once a week will be sufficient. 

 «' The first sowing will come into use about the middle of April, and successive sowings made in March will 

 *' keep up the supply until the beginning of the rains." 



The rainy season variety must be sown in June, and supports for it to climb upon 

 are necessary. 



It is difficult to ascertain accurately the area occupied by this plant in different 



* References :— DC. Prod. iii. 311 ; Roxb. ri. Ind. iii. 707 ; W. & A. Prod. 34S ; Wight Ic. 504 ; Dalz. and Gibs. 

 Hombay FI. 102 ; Druvy Useful PI. of Ind. 306 ; Hook. Fl. Brit. Ind. ii. 616 ; Naudin in Ann. Ser. 4, Vol. 12, p. 131 ; Cogniaux 

 in DC. Mon. Phan. iii, 430 ; Atkinson Kconom. Prod. N.-W. P. Part v. p. 7 ; Gaz. N.-W. P. x. p. 700 ; Indian Forester Vol. 

 ix. (1883) pp. 162 and 202. JU. muricata, DC. Prod. I.e. M. senegalensis, Lam. 



•f- Piddington Index 57. (M. muricata), 



X Ind. For. I.e. 



