Momordica cochinchinensis Loureiro (Cucurbitaceae)
- Scientific name
- Momordica cochinchinensis Loureiro
- Family name
- Cucurbitaceae
- Common name
- Giant spine gourd (English); nanban kikarasuuri (Japanese)
- Local name
- Fak khao
Dioecious, woody climber, often climbing high on trees. Stem robust, angular. Root tuberous. Tendrils unbranched. Leaves simple, palmately lobed; petiole 5–10 cm long, with 2–5 glands near the middle; blade suborbicular in outline, c.15 cm in diameter, deeply lobed 3–5, margin entire or subdentate; base cordate with few glands; petiole 5–30 cm long. Flowers solitary in leaf axil, 7–10 cm in diameter, yellow with dark throat inside. Male inflorescence up to 30 cm long, with long peduncle, bearing an apical, suborbicular, sessile bract, 3–4 × 4–5 cm; pedicel up to 10 mm long. Female flowers with much smaller bracts near the mid-peduncle; pedicel 4–10 mm long. Fruit 10–20 × 6–10 cm, yellow, turning red at maturity, densely covered with small, rigid spines. Seeds brown, compressed, 2.5 × 2 cm, c. 5 mm thick.
Common climber on large trees along forest margins or in abandoned areas. Occasionally grown in home orchards or backyard gardens. Propagated by seed sowing or stem cutting. Growing plant must be supported by a sturdy stake.
Young fruits, shoots, and flowers are cooked in curries, or boiled and eaten with nam phrik (dipping sauces) and rice. Young shoots are fried with oyster sauce and served with pork or shrimp.Nam fak khao (spine gourd juice) made from ripe fruit is popular in Thailand.
Young fruits, shoots, and flowers are cooked in curries, or boiled and eaten with nam phrik (dipping sauces) and rice. Young shoots are fried with oyster sauce and served with pork or shrimp.Nam fak khao (spine gourd juice) made from ripe fruit is popular in Thailand.