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Thladiantha dubia

Common name:	Red Hailstone	Family:	Cucurbitaceae
Author:	Bunge.	Botanical references:	74, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - N.E. China, Korea. Naturalized in C. and S.E. Europe[50].
Habitat:	Riparian meadows and sandy coasts[74].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Manchu Tuber Gourd [B], Manchu Tubergourd [P], Wang Kua [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	dubia = dubious;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Violales. Cucumber family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China

Physical Characteristics

Perennial Climber growing to 2m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 7. It is in flower from July to August. The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required). The plant not is self-fertile. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Fruit; Leaves; Root.

Fruit - raw or cooked. Succulent[2, 177]. The oblong fruit is about 4cm long and 2.5cm wide[200].
Young plant - cooked[105, 178].
Root[178]. No further details are given.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Alterative; Astringent; Cardiotonic; Cholagogue; Diuretic; Galactogogue.

The seed is a cardiac tonic and an astringent[178, 218].
The root is alterative, cholagogue, diuretic and galactogogue[178, 218].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Succeeds in almost any soil that is well-drained[1, 200]. Prefers a fertile soil in a sunny but sheltered position[188].
Hardy to about -20°c[187]. Although the plant is hardy, it grows better on a sunny wall[1].
A fast-growing plant, climbing by means of tendrils[188]. It grows well on fences etc and can be used as a screen over unsightly objects, though it dies back to the roots each winter[233].
The young shoots require protection (the report does not specify from what)[187].
Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if fruit and seed is required.

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse[K]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots of fairly rich soil and plant them out after the last expected frosts.
Division of tubers in spring or autumn. The tubers can be harvested in the autumn and stored in a cool frost-free place overwinter then planted out in the spring[K].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[178] Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre
A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. 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.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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