Coccinia grandis : Cucurbitaceae : Gujarat : 02JAN20 : AK-1

[Aarti S. Khale]

My first post for this year.

A lot of these climber were seen by the roadside on the way from Baroda to Rajpipla.

The local driver said that these were wild, bitter to taste and not eaten. 

Are these any different from the ones we eat as a vegetable?

To me they looked the same.

Aarti

[dr.rakesh Singh]

As much as I know , wild ones are not bitter .I regularly see poors , particularly road and construction workers , picking it from wild vines .  Occasional bitter ones , yes . 

Cucurbits can be bitter occasionally , I know from experience . Our Indian Desi Cucumber is famous for bitterness , particularly on caudal end and sometimes whole . Luffa cylindrica , Luffa acutangula , Lagenaria vulgaris , Trichosanthes dioica , Kakdi ... bitter pieces are encountered time and again . In Coccinea grandis , what is grown is a selection and propagation of non-bitter variety year on year . When a farmer encounters bitter vine , he will simply uproot it . 

Dinesh sir , in Gujarat it is called Giloda and Tindoda . 

In Bihar , Kundari . 

I left home in 85 . Till then Coccinea grandis was not introduced as vegetable , at least in my area (Siwan) and in Patna and Bhagalpur .But diabetics were known to gather it from wild vines and use it as vegetable . Interestingly , wild growth was known as Tirkol तिरकोल . By 95 it was an established vegetable in markets of Bihar . I came to Gujarat in 96 and it was already there . 

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[Dinesh Valke]

Thanks very much Rakesh ji for the names, and other information.

Regards.

Dinesh

[Aarti S. Khale]

Rakesh Ji,

Thanks a lot for the clarification and additional information.

I take it as Coccinea grandis.

Regards,

Aarti 

On Thu, Jan 2, 2020 at 10:50 PM dr.rakesh Singh <dr.rake...@gmail.com> wrote: