Ivy Gourd
Coccinia grandis

Family: Cucurbitaceae

What it is like

Coccinia grandis is a PERENNIAL growing to 3 m (9ft 10in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 9. It is in flower from August to September. The species is dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required). and is pollinated by Insects. The plant is not self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 3

Where it is found

Deciduous bush, savannah, dry evergreen forest and thickets. Moist neglected places, especially on hedges, to elevations of 1400 metres in Nepal.

Tropical Asia To Africa.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Barbados, Cambodia, Cameroon, Caribbean, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Chad, China, Colombia, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, East Africa, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Guam, Guiana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Hawaii, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Laos, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Micronesia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, North Africa, Northeastern India, Pacific, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, SE Asia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South America, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad-Tobago, Uganda, USA, Vanuatu, Vietnam, West Africa, Yemen, Zambia.

How it is used

Food

Rating: 2

Young leaves and long slender stem tops - cooked and eaten as a potherb or added to soups. Young and tender green fruits - raw in salads or cooked and added to curries etc. Ripe scarlet fruit - raw. Fleshy and sweet. The fruit is up to 5cm long.

Medicine

Rating: 2

The juice of the roots and leaves is considered to be a useful treatment for diabetes. The juice of the stem is dripped into the eyes to treat cataracts. The leaves are used as a poultice in treating skin eruptions. The plant is laxative. It is used internally in the treatment of gonorrhoea. Aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the plant have shown hypoglycaemic principles.

Hypoglycaemic: Reduces the levels of sugar in the blood.

Laxative: Stimulates bowel movements in a fairly gentle manner.

Miscellany: Various medicinal actions that need more clarification.

Ophthalmic: Treats eye complaints.

Poultice: A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.

VD: Used in the treatment of venereal disease

Other

Rating: 0

Miscellany: A rag-bag of items that are difficult to categorise.

How it is grown

Succeeds in any soil but prefers a sunny sheltered position in a humus-rich open soil. Keep the plant well watered in the growing season. Occasionally cultivated for its edible fruit in tropical and sub-tropical zones, this plant is not hardy in Britain and normally requires greenhouse protection if it is to fruit here. 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.

Propagating it: 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. 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.

Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; South Wall. By. West Wall. By.

Habit: Perennial

Hardiness: 8-11

Growth:

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

This plant can be weedy or invasive. Native to East Africa and introduced to Australia, the Caribbean, southern USA and the Pacific region. An aggressive grower smothering and killing native vegetation, including mature trees. Particularly invasive in Saipan and Guam. Known as a noxiuos weed in Hawaii, USA.

Its other names

Local names

ivy gourd; kovai fruit; little gourd; scarlet gourd; tindora. Spanish: pepino cimarrón. Chinese: hong gua. Bangladesh: telakucha. Germany: Scharlachranke; Tindola. India: ban-kundri (Oriya); bimbika (Sanskrit); donda kaya (Telugu); kova (Malayalam); koval (Malayalam); kundree; kundru (Hindi); kunduru (Hindi); tindori; tondikay (Kannada); tondli (Marathi). Marshall Islands: kiuri awai. Micronesia, Federated states of: aipikohrd (Pohnpei). Pakistan: kanduri (Urdu); kundur (Urdu). Peninsular Malaysia: pepasan. Sweden: scharlakansgurka. Tonga: kiukamapa ae initia. Aroi papasan, Baby cucumber, Bak tam nin, Ban kakri, Bat, Belipoka, Bimbika, Bolu teke, Buta, Bwlai, Chiloda, Chum bat, Covay kai, Donda, Edaldalksin, Enkaiserariai, Gol kakri, Golenda, Jangli kundru, Kandaroi, Kanduri, Kapasan, Kattukoval, Kauwa-luli, Kiukamapa 'ae 'initia, Koba, Kovai, Kundri, Kundri ja, Kundru, Lacheta, Lyungulyungu, Marr 'had, Ndegegeya, Pak tam lung, Pake, Papasan, Pepasan, Phak tam leung, Phak tam nin, Phak tamlueng, Sarap alas, Scarlet fruited gourd, Scarlet gourd, Sloek Bas, Tala kachu, Tam ling, Tam lung, Tam nin, Tam-lueng, Tandli, Telakucha, Telkocha, Tilkakri, Tindora, Tinduri, Tondli, Tongli, Tudu.

Synonyms

Bryonia acerifolia D.Dietr. Bryonia alceifolia Willd. Bryonia barbata Buch.-Ham. ex Cogn.