Benincasa hispida
(Thunberg) Cogniaux
Wax gourd
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What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit, Seeds, Leaves, Flowers, Vegetable
Edible Parts: Flowers Fruit Leaves Seed Edible Uses: Fruit - raw or cooked. Used as a vegetable, and in pickles, curries and preserves. The fruit can be eaten when it is young or old, it can be picked as early as one week after fertilization. A juicy texture with a mild flavour, the flavour is somewhat stronger in younger fruits. Because of its waxy coating, it will store for several months, sometimes as long as a year. Mature fruits can vary in weight from 2 - 50 kg. A nutritional analysis is available. Young leaves and flower buds are steamed and eaten as a vegetable, or are added as a flavouring to soups. Seed - cooked. Rich in oil and protein. References More on Edible Uses Composition Figures in grams (g) or miligrams (mg) per 100g of food. Fruit (Fresh weight) 13 Calories per 100g Water : 96.1% Protein: 0.4g; Fat: 0.2g; Carbohydrate: 3g; Fibre: 0.5g; Ash: 0.3g; Minerals - Calcium: 19mg; Phosphorus: 19mg; Iron: 0.4mg; Magnesium: 0mg; Sodium: 6mg; Potassium: 111mg; Zinc: 0mg; Vitamins - A: 0mg; Thiamine (B1): 4mg; Riboflavin (B2): 0.11mg; Niacin: 0.4mg; B6: 0mg; C: 13mg; Reference: Notes:
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It is suited to warm, lowland, tropical conditions. It does better in dry areas or drier seasons. They are reasonably drought tolerant. The best temperature for growing is 23-28°C. They need a well-drained soil. They do best with a pH of 6.5. It grows in Nepal up to 1400 m altitude. In Yunnan.
Not known in a truly wild situation.
How to Identify
A climbing, pumpkin family plant. The vine can be 3 m long. The plant re-grows from seed each year. The vines are thick, furrowed and hairy. The leaves are heart shaped with 5 to 7 lobes. They are rough to touch. Flowers are yellow. The immature fruit can have skin of various colours depending on variety. The fruit is up to 30 cm long and 20 cm across and green with a waxy covering when mature. This waxy layer enables the fruit to be stored for a long time. Fruit shape and size can vary with variety. The flesh is firm and white. The fruit are heavy - up to 8-45 kg.
Nutrition Score: 17/100
| Part | Moisture | kJ | kcal | Protein | Vit A | Vit C | Iron | Zinc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fruit | 92 | 118 | 28 | 0.7 | 0 | 15 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
| Fruit - cooked | 96.6 | 54 | 13 | 0.4 | 0 | 10.5 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
| Leaves | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Seeds | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Flowers | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
How to Grow
It is a commercially cultivated vegetable. These gourds are grown in most places where Chinese have moved and where the climate is warm enough. They are mainly grown near coastal towns in Papua New Guinea for sale to Chinese. They sell for a high price. Leaves are sold in local markets.
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. Plant out in May/June after the last expected frosts.
Medicinal Uses
Anthelmintic Antiperiodic Aphrodisiac Cancer Demulcent Diuretic Epilepsy Expectorant Febrifuge Laxative Salve Tonic Urinary VD 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. It is taken internally in the treatment of urinary dysfunction, summer fevers etc. The ashes of the rind are applied to painful wounds. The seed is anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory, demulcent, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, laxative and tonic. A decoction is used internally in the treatment of vaginal discharges and coughs. In combination with Rheum palmatum it is used to treat intestinal abscesses. In Ayurvedic medicine the seed is used in the treatment of coughs, fevers, excessive thirst and to expel tapeworms. The oil from the seed is also used as an anthelmintic. The fruit is antiperiodic, aphrodisiac, diuretic, laxative and tonic. It is used in Ayurvedic medicine in the treatment of epilepsy, lung diseases, asthma, coughs etc. The fruit juice is used in the treatment of insanity, epilepsy and other nervous diseases. Recent research has shown that the fruits contain anti-cancer terpenes. An infusion of the root is used in the treatment of gonorrhoea. Demulcent, salve. Facilitates pus drainage.
Other Uses
Rootstock A wax that coats the fruit is used to make candles. The roots have considerable resistance to soil-borne diseases and they are sometimes used as a rootstock for melons and other cucurbits. Special Uses
Wikipedia
Annual vine growing to 6 m with trailing habit. Frost tender, hardy to UK zone 10. In leaf June to October, flowering July to September, seeds ripening August to November. Monoecious with bee pollination and self-fertile. Prefers light sandy, medium loamy, or heavy clay well-drained soils in mildly acid to basic pH. Requires full sun and moist conditions but tolerates drought.
Production
There is only one Benincasa species. Because the rootstocks are resistant to several pests they are sometimes used as rootstocks for grafting on other pumpkin family plants.
Names & Synonyms
Alu puhul, Ash gourd, Ash pumpkin, Babuar, Baligo, Beligu, Bhuru kohlu, Bi xanh, Bligo semangka, Bligo, Blondcheng, Budagumbala kayi, Bududa-gummadi, Calabaza china, Chalkumra, Chal kumra, Chinese preserving melon, Chuna kumra, Dong gwa, Faeng, Fak-kib, Fak-kio, Fuzzy melon, Gimikumra, Jali kumra, Kalyanappushinikkay, Khaukhluhaba, Kodot, Kohala, Kondol, Kooshmanda, Kubhindo, Kubindo, Kumbalangai, Kundol, Kundor, Kundur, Kuvindo, Kyauk-pha-yon, Leor, Lun-tha, Mafaeng, Maipuang, Maipuong, Petha-kaddu, Petha, Pirorogo, Por-mat, Puhul, Pushani kai, Rodal, Sada kumra, Sambal pusanikkai, Tibiayon, Tong qua, Tonx, Torbot, Tougan, Trallaach, Trallah, Tung kwa, Umpong, Wattakkai, Winter melon
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