Coccinia · Kew POWO · Kew Plants of the World Online
Coccinia
Sign in to saveThe scarlet gourds are a genus (Coccinia from the Greek, kokkinia or kokkinias - "red" or "scarlet") with 25 species. It is distributed in sub-Saharan Africa and with one species, C. grandis also in South Asia and Southeast Asia, and it is also introduced into the New World. Incidentally, C. grandis is also a cultivated crop and it is used for culinary and medical purposes.
Species
GENUS
- KingdomPlantae
- PhylumTracheophyta
- ClassMagnoliopsida
- OrderCucurbitales
- FamilyCucurbitaceae
via GBIF · Kew POWO
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Coccinia grandis.jpg
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- taxon name
- Coccinia
- Commons category
- Coccinia
- taxon common name
- 红瓜属
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Article
7 sectionsContents
- Description
- Distribution
- Use
- Primary literature
- Gallery
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The scarlet gourds are a genus (Coccinia from the Greek, kokkinia or kokkinias - "red" or "scarlet") with 25 species. It is distributed in sub-Saharan Africa and with one species, C. grandis also in South Asia and Southeast Asia, and it is also introduced into the New World. Incidentally, C. grandis is also a cultivated crop and it is used for culinary and medical purposes.
== Description == Coccinia species are perennial climbing or creeping herbs. Climbing is supported by simple of unequally bifid tendrils. Most species develop a tuber from the hypocotyl, sometimes on roots. The cotyledons are simple, entire and have a blunt tip. The leaves are usually stalked, rarely sessile. The leaves are simple to deeply lobed, usually with teeth along the margin. The lower leaf side often bears small nectar-producing glands.