Solena amplexicaulis (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Solena amplexicaulis (Lamk) Gandhi

Family: Cucurbitaceae

Synonyms

• Melothria heterophylla (Lour.) Cogn.,
• Solena heterophylla Lour.

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: tingkesan (Java), kilong layong (West Java)
• Malaysia: timun tikus
• Cambodia: mreach khmaôch
• Laos: tam-nin
• Thailand: tamlung-tuaphu
• Vietnam: hoa bát, câù qua.

Distribution

From India to China and Australia, including South-East Asia, but not in the Philippines.

Uses

Unripe fruits can be eaten cooked or raw as a vegetable.

Observations

• Extremely variable, dioecious, climbing herb, 1.5-3 m long.
• Leaf-blade polymorphous, ovate-triangular to narrowly sagittate, entire or more of less 3-5-lobed, in outline 4-10 cm × 3-9 cm.
• Tendrils very long, simple.
• Fruit an oblongoid berry, 4-5 cm × 2-2.5 cm, red when ripe.

In brushwoods and forest edges.

Selected sources

7, 20, 33, 44.