Skip to main content

Elephant bell gourd (Trichosanthes tricuspidata)

Elephant bell gourd (Trichosanthes tricuspidata) is a plant species in the Cucurbitaceae, stems grow elongated to propagate or climb, many branches, cylindrical in shape and green in color.

T. cochinchinensis has stem tips or branches that twist to attach themselves to a support or other plant. It grows to climb to cover a support, usually on another plant, up to several meters and creeps along the ground to reach another support.

Dlium Elephant bell gourd (Trichosanthes tricuspidata)


Arrow-shaped leaves, split base, sharp apex and two wings at an acute angle, have many veins ending at a sharp edge, green and have a long petiole. Single flower is white.

The fruit is round to oval, ends with a tail, young green and turns red with maturity, thin skin, thick flesh and reddish yellow, has a short stalk and hangs. The seeds are in the middle of the fruit. Seeds are white, oval and flat. Black coated seeds.

Elephant bell gourd grows wild in primary and secondary forests, agricultural land, roadsides, watersheds, especially on slopes, damp and dry, shady and full of sun and is not cultivated.



Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Cucurbitales
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Tribe: Sicyoeae
Genus: Trichosanthes
Species: Trichosanthes tricuspidata
Subspecies: Trichosanthes tricuspidata asperifolia, Trichosanthes tricuspidata seramensis, Trichosanthes tricuspidata siberutensis, Trichosanthes tricuspidata javanica, Trichosanthes tricuspidata rotundata, Trichosanthes tricuspidata tricuspidata, Trichosanthes tricuspidata flavofila, Trichosanthes tricuspidata strigosa, Trichosanthes tricuspidata tomentosa

Popular Posts

Limestone beads (Jacquemontia paniculata)

Limestone beads ( Jacquemontia paniculata ) is a species of plant in the Convolvulaceae. It is a herbaceous, twining climbing plant with cylindrical, branched, green stems. It grows in shrubs, teak forest floors, agricultural lands, roadsides, and abandoned areas. J. paniculata has arrow-shaped, green leaves with a central main vein and numerous pinnate minor veins. The leaves are up to 9 cm long, 7 cm wide, and have stalks up to 5 cm long. The flowers are star-shaped, about 1 cm in diameter, and bluish-white. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Solanales Family: Convolvulaceae Subfamily: Dichondroideae Tribe: Jacquemontieae Genus: Jacquemontia Choisy in Mém. Soc. Phys. Genève 6: 476 (1833 publ. 1834) Species: Jacquemontia paniculata (Burm.f.) Hallier f. in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 18: 95 (1893) Variety: Jacquemontia paniculata var. grandiflora Ooststr., Jacquemontia paniculata var. lanceolata S.H.Huang, Jacquemontia paniculata v...

Kemadih (Fagraea ceilanica)

Kemadih ( Fagraea ceilanica ) is a species of plant in the Gentianaceae family. It grows as a climber and covers host trees. It is a perennial, multi-branched, hardwood plant with hard, brown bark and dark green young bark. F. ceilanica has thick leaves, 15 cm long and 8 cm wide. A central vein is linear, with a pointed tip and base. The upper surface is dark green and the lower surface is bright green. The petiole is 3 cm long. The flowers are fan-shaped with 5 inflorescences. The base is narrow, whitish-yellow or bright green, and 8 cm wide. Four inflorescences with brownish-white tips and one inflorescence with a green tip grow in the center. The fruit is green, 3.5 cm long, and the stalk is 2 cm long. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Gentianales Family: Gentianaceae Tribe: Potalieae Subtribe: Potaliinae Genus: Fagraea Thunb. in Kongl. Vetensk. Acad. Nya Handl. 3: 125 (1782) Species: Fagraea ceilanica Thunb. in Kong...

Kunu buti (Mesosphaerum suaveolens)

Kunu buti ( Mesosphaerum suaveolens ) is a species of plant in the Lamiaceae family. It is an erect, herbaceous annual, growing up to 1.5 meters tall. Its cylindrical, rough, brown or green stem is hairy and white. It grows on forest floors, bushes, agricultural fields, and roadsides. Its roots are fibrous and brownish-yellow. M. suaveolens has single, opposite leaves, stalks 2-5 cm long and hairy. The leaf blades are green, hairy, oval, with pointed tips, blunt bases, serrated edges, up to 6 cm long, up to 5 cm wide, and pinnate veins. The flowers are compound, axillary, in clusters, perfect, and bisexual. The petals are attached, forming a tube, each tip elongated like a spine, soft, 3-10 mm long, and green. The corolla is attached, asymmetrically detached, 1-2 cm long, and purple. The fruit is single, hard, capsule-shaped, hairy on the surface, and green or brown in color. The seeds are round, small and blackish brown in color. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphyl...