Benincasa hispida

Botanical Description

Benincasa hispida is a robust, annual climbing plant producing stems up to 6 metres long that scramble over the ground or climb into other plants, supporting themselves by means of tendrils. The plant can produce such enormous fruits that it either needs to be really well supported when climbing or be grown as a ground-cover crop[ 200 Title The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. Publication Author Huxley. A. Publisher MacMillan Press Year 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Description Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed. ]. The plant is a rather important market vegetable in subtropical and tropical Asia, and the immature fruits are increasingly popular in city markets. It is frequently cultivated, especially in the Old World tropics, for its edible fruit[ 46 Title Dictionary of Economic Plants. Publication Author Uphof. J. C. Th. Publisher Weinheim Year 1959 ISBN - Description 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. , 183 Title Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Publication Author Facciola. S. Publisher Kampong Publications Year 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 Description Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world. , 301 Title Cornucopia II Publication Author Facciola. S. Publisher Kampong Publications, California. Year 1998 ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 Description The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc. ]. It is also often used medicinally, especially in China.