fruits & vegetables :: NATIVE, CULTIVATED :: Cucurbitaceae » Momordica charantia

[Dinesh Valke]

Cucurbitaceae (pumpkin, or gourd family) » Momordica charantia
Synonyms: Momordica muricata, Momordica zeylanica


mo-MOR-di-ka -- from the word to bite, reference to the seeds which look bitten
char-AN-tee-a -- a pre-Linnean name, used as the specific epithet of Momordica charantia


commonly known as: balsam pear, bitter gourd • Assamese: কেৰেলা karela • Bengali: করলা karala • Gujarati: કારેલું karelu • Hindi: करेला karela, कठिल्ल kathilla, परारु poraru • Kannada: ಹಾಗಲಕಾಯಿ haagalakaayi • Kashmiri: करेल् karel • Konkani: काराते kaaraate • Lushai: chang-kha • Malayalam: കയ്‌പ്പ kayppa, പാവയ്ക്ക pavaykka • Manipuri: কারোন অখাবী karon akhabi • Marathi: आंबलें ambalem, कारली karali, कारेती kareti • Mizo: changkha • Nepalese: अमला amala, करेलो karelo • Oriya: changkha • Punjabi: ਕਰੇਲਾ karela • Sanskrit: कारवेल्लकः kaarvellakah, कटिल्लः kathillah, परारु paraaru, सुषवी sushavi, ऊर्ध्वासितः urdhvaasitah • Sindhi: ڪَريلو karelo • Tamil: இராசவள்ளி iraca-valli, பாகற்காய் pagakkai • Telugu: కాకర kakara • Tibetan: su sa ba • Tulu: ಕಂಚಲ kanchala •  Urdu: کريلا karela


Native to: tropics of Africa and Asia; naturalized and cultivated elsewhere


Edible use:

... unripe fruit (as VEGETABLE)
... generally consumed cooked in the green or early yellowing stage. The young shoots and leaves of the bitter melon are also be eaten as greens ... Wikipedia

some facts:

... the original home of the species is not known, other than that it is a native of the tropics.
... there are many varieties that differ substantially in the shape and bitterness of the fruit.
Quoted from Wikipedia