Coccinia grandis
| Coccinia grandis | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 9 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Cross Pollinated | |
| Height: | 10' |
| Blooms: | Late Summer-Early Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Coccinia grandis (common name: ivy gourd)
Propagation: Seed - sow March in a warm greenhouse in pots of fairly rich soil placing 2 - 3 seeds in each pot. The seed usually germinates within 2 - 4 weeks at 20°c[1]. Thin to the best seedling in each pot and grow them on fast, giving occasional liquid feeds. Plant out after the last expected frosts and give the plants some protection such as a cloche until they are growing away well.
Cultivation: Succeeds in any soil[2] but prefers a sunny sheltered position in a humus-rich open soil[1]. Keep the plant well watered in the growing season[1].
Occasionally cultivated for its edible fruit in tropical and sub-tropical zones[3][4], this plant is not hardy in Britain and normally requires greenhouse protection if it is to fruit here[5]. However, it may succeed outdoors as a tender annual in hot summers if given a suitable position and started off early in the greenhouse.
Dioecious, male and female plants must be grown if seed and fruits are required.
Range: Tropical Asia To Africa.
Habitat: Deciduous bush, savannah, dry evergreen forest and thickets[5]. Moist neglected places, especially on hedges, to elevations of 1400 metres in Nepal[6].
Edibility: Young leaves and long slender stem tops - cooked and eaten as a potherb or added to soups[3][4][7][8][9][6].
Young and tender green fruits - raw in salads or cooked and added to curries etc[10][3][4][7][8][9].
Ripe scarlet fruit - raw. Fleshy and sweet[9]. The fruit is up to 5cm long[5].
Medicinal: The juice of the roots and leaves is considered to be a useful treatment for diabetes[11][6].
The juice of the stem is dripped into the eyes to treat cataracts[6].
The leaves are used as a poultice in treating skin eruptions[11].
The plant is laxative[4]. It is used internally in the treatment of gonorrhoea[11].
Aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the plant have shown hypoglycaemic principles[11].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Dioecious
Also Known As: C. cordifolia. C. indica. Wight.&Arn.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Bird, Alfred. Growing from Seed Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan, 1990.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Manandhar, Narayan. Plants and People of Nepal. Timber Press, 2002.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.