Benincasa hispida
| Benincasa hispida | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 10 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 20' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Early Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Benincasa hispida (common name: wax gourd)
Propagation: Seed - sow March/April in a greenhouse. Germination should take place within 3 weeks. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on fast in a rich compost in the greenhouse. Try to maintain a minimum night temperature of at least 10°c for the seedlings first few weeks[1]. Plant out in May/June after the last expected frosts[2].
Cultivation: Requires a warm sunny position in a rich well-drained soil and plenty of moisture in the growing season[2][3][4]. Established plants are reasonably drought tolerant[1]. Tolerates a pH in the range 5.8 to 6.8.
This species is not very frost hardy, it is best grown in a greenhouse in Britain[5] but can succeed outdoors in good summers if started off in a greenhouse and planted out after the last expected frosts. Plants require stable temperatures in excess of 25°c if they are to do well[3]. Short daylengths and lower temperatures stimulate female flower development, higher temperatures stimulate male flower production[3]. Plants take 5 months from seed to produce a mature crop, though the fruits can be eaten when immature[1].
The wax gourd is frequently cultivated for its edible fruit in the tropics, there are many named varieties[6]. One group, sometimes classified as B. hispids chieh-gua, is known as the hairy melon or jointed gourd. This form is grown for its immature fruit in much the same way as courgettes are used[1]. Mature fruits of this form do not develop a waxy coating[1]. The fruit can be harvested about 3 months after sowing[1].
Range: Tropical Asia.
Habitat: Not known in a truly wild situation.
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked[7][8]. Used as a vegetable, and in pickles, curries and preserves[2][9][10][11][6]. The fruit can be eaten when it is young or old[12], it can be picked as early as one week after fertilization[1]. A juicy texture with a mild flavour, the flavour is somewhat stronger in younger fruits[1]. Because of its waxy coating, it will store for several months, sometimes as long as a year[12][1]. Mature fruits can vary in weight from 2 - 50 kg[1]. A nutritional analysis is available[13].
Young leaves and flower buds are steamed and eaten as a vegetable, or are added as a flavouring to soups[6][3].
Seed - cooked[7][8][14][6]. Rich in oil and protein.
Medicinal: The wax gourd has been used as a food and medicine for thousands of years in the Orient. All parts of the fruit are used medicinally.
The rind of the fruit is diuretic[13][4]. It is taken internally in the treatment of urinary dysfunction, summer fevers etc[4]. The ashes of the rind are applied to painful wounds[13].
The seed is anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory, demulcent, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, laxative and tonic[13][4]. A decoction is used internally in the treatment of vaginal discharges and coughs[4][15]. In combination with Rheum palmatum it is used to treat intestinal abscesses[15]. In Ayurvedic medicine the seed is used in the treatment of coughs, fevers, excessive thirst and to expel tapeworms[15]. The oil from the seed is also used as an anthelmintic[16].
The fruit is antiperiodic, aphrodisiac, diuretic, laxative and tonic[16]. It is used in Ayurvedic medicine in the treatment of epilepsy, lung diseases, asthma, coughs etc[4]. The fruit juice is used in the treatment of insanity, epilepsy and other nervous diseases[16]. Recent research has shown that the fruits contain anti-cancer terpenes[4].
An infusion of the root is used in the treatment of gonorrhoea[13].
Demulcent, salve. Facilitates pus drainage[17][18][19].
Usage: A wax that coats the fruit is used to make candles[9][10][4].
The roots have considerable resistance to soil-borne diseases and they are sometimes used as a rootstock for melons and other cucurbits[1].
Pollinators: Bees
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Early Summer-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Monoecious
Also Known As: B. cerifera.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Larkcom, Joy. Oriental Vegetables. John Murray, 1991.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ Organ, John. Gourds. Faber, 1963.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Komarov, Vladimir. Flora of the USSR. Gantner Verlag, 1968.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Chakravarty, Hiralal. The Plant Wealth of Iraq. 1976.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Vilmorin-Andrieux. The Vegetable Garden. Ten Speed Press.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Oriental Herbs and Vegetables, Vol 39 No. 2. Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 1986.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Chevallier, Andrew. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Dorling Kindersley, 1996.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.
- ↑ Revolutionary Health Committee of Hunan Province. A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press.
- ↑ Yeung, Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, 1985.
- ↑ Stuart, George. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei Southern Materials Centre.