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Momordica balsamina
Cucurbitaceae FAMILY

Momordica balsamina

Momordica balsamina

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

Although reported to be edible, the ripe fruits have also been reported to cause vomiting and diarrhoea, and can be poisonous[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial Climber
Growth—

A plant of the tropics that can be grown in subtropical and warm temperate areas. It is found at elevations from sea level to 1,465 metres, in dry to wet areas with a rainfall of 200 - 1,200 mm annually. The plant seems to be at least somewhat frost hardy[2]. Found in the wild in white, yellow, red and grey sandy soils, also in loam, clay, alluvial, gravelly and calcareous soils[2]. It requires a soil rich in organic matter if optimum yields are to be achieved[3].

Propagation

Seed - sow in situ. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Momordica+balsamina>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
  2. [2]PlantZAfrica.com — http://www.plantzafrica.com ↩︎An excellent site giving detailed descriptions and uses of many S. African plants.
  3. [3]Vegetables in the Tropics — Tindall. H. D. · MacMillan, Oxford. · 1983 · ISBN 0-333-24268-8 ↩︎An excellent, in-depth look at the main vegetable crops that can be grown in the Tropics, plus many less well-known plants.
  4. [4]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
  5. [5]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  6. [6]Plants and People of Nepal — Manandhar. N. P. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 2002 · ISBN 0-88192-527-6 ↩︎Excellent book, covering over 1,500 species of useful plants from Nepal together with information on the geography and peoples of Nepal. Good descriptions of the plants with terse notes on their uses.
  7. [7]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  8. [8]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  9. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎