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Momordica sahyadrica
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Family:
CUCURBITACEAE
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Citation: Momordica sahyadrica Kattuk. & V.T.Antony, Nordic J. Bot. 24: 541. 2007.
Momordica subangulata sensu Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 532(375). 1919; Chakrav., Fasc. Fl. Ind. 11: 95. 1982; Sasidh., Fl. Parambikulam WLS 135. 2002; Ratheesh Narayanan, Fl. Stud. Wayanad Dist. 393. 2009, non Blume 1826.
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Malayalam Name(s):
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Tamil name(s):
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English name(s):
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Description:
Tendrillar dioecious, perennial climbers with tuberous tap root; tendrils unbranched, 8-15 cm long, the basal 4-5 cm uncoiled. Leaves alternate, entire or 3-5 lobed, 10-16 x 8-18 cm, ovate or broadly triangular in outline, sometimes hastate, apex acute or acuminate, base deeply cordate, margin entire, undulate or coarsely crenulate, lateral veins 5-7 pairs, the lower pair running close to the margin of the basal sinus, hairs short, scattered, white; petiole 3-8 cm long, 1-1.5 mm, thick. Male flowers axillary, solitary or a loose fascicle of 5-7 flowers; peduncle 2-5 cm long, pedicels 0.8-1 cm long; bract reniform to 3 x 3 cm, margins cuccullate. Sepals free, elliptic oblong, ca 1 x 0.6 cm, yellowish white at center. Petals free, obovate, ca 4 x 2.5 cm, bright yellow, three petals with a small tongue-like ciliate appendage near the base. Stamens 3, two of them with a pair of anthers, the other with a single anther, yellowish orange, filaments up to 3 mm long, anthers 2-3 x 1-2 mm, extrorse, thecae dull black. Female flowers solitary, axillary; peduncle 0.5-2 cm long; pedicel up to 2 cm long, subtended either by a rudimentary (1.3 x 0.5-5 mm) or reniform ca 2 x 2 cm bract. Sepals green, persistent, lanceolate, 0.8-1.3 x 1-3 mm, acuminate, densely glandular hairy within and without. Petals ca 4 x 2 cm, greenish-yellow and ciliate at base; staminodes 5 (2+2+1), white, cylindrical, touching the style. Ovary oblong-ovoid, 1-1.5 x 0.3-0.5 cm, more or less densely clothed with soft papillae of ca 1 mm length; style ca 6 mm long; stigma ca 4 x 9 mm, 3 lobed, each lobe again 2-lobed. Fruits broadly ellipsoid or ovoid to fusiform, 5-7.5 x 3-4.2 cm, dark green, turning bright orange on ripening, densely clothed with soft short spines 2-4 mm long; pulp carmine red; seeds black, shining, round or slightly cog-wheel-shaped, margin warty-dentate, sculptured on faces with irregular furrows and ridges, 6.2-7.7 x 5.4-6.9 mm.
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Habit:
Climber
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Flowering & Fruiting:
June-October
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District(s):
Palakkad, Wayanad, Thrissur, Kannur, Idukki, Kozhikkode
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Medicinal:
Yes
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Habitat:
Moist deciduous and semi-evergreen forests
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Distribution:
Western Ghats
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Aquatic:
No
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Epiphyte(s):
No
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Saprophyte:
No
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Stem parasite:
No
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Root parasite:
No
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Flower colour(s):
Yellow
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Weed:
No
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Monocot/Dicot:
Dicotyledonous Plants
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Exotic:
No
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Garden:
No
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Edible:
No
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Vegetable:
No
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Endemic to:
Western Ghats
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IUCN status:
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Altitude:
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Localities:
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