Momordica dioica, commonly known as spiny gourd or spine gourd or teasle gourd and also known as bristly balsam pear, is a species of flowering plant in the Cucurbitaceae/gourd family. It is propagated by underground tubers. It has small leaves, small yellow flowers, it has small, dark green, round or oval fruits. It is dioecious, which means that it has distinct male and female individual organisms, hence its name.
From Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Is it poisonous?
We have no record of Teasle Gourd being toxic, poisonous or venomous. That is not proof that it is safe. Never eat, touch or handle a wild plant, mushroom or animal on the strength of an identification; ask someone qualified.
Easily confused with
- Luffa operculata
- Luffa aegyptiaca
- Momordica foetida
- Luffa acutangula
- Benincasa hispida
- Trichosanthes costata
Classification
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Phylum
- Tracheophyta
- Class
- Magnoliopsida
- Order
- Cucurbitales
- Family
- Cucurbitaceae
- Genus
- Momordica
- Species
- Momordica dioica
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