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Trichosanthes kirilowii

Common name:	Chinese Cucumber	Family:	Cucurbitaceae
Author:	Maxim.	Botanical references:	58, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - China, Mongolia, Vietnam.
Habitat:	Forest edges and a weed of thickets in China[147].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Chinese Cucumber [H], Chinese Snakegourd [H], Gua-lou [H], Karo [E], Kua Lou [E], T'Ien Kua [E], Tian-hua-fen [H], Trichosanthes [H],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Violales. Cucumber family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China Japan Malaya (Import)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial Climber growing to 6m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 9 and is frost tender. It is in flower from July to September. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 3/5 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 Oil Root.

Fruit[183]. The young fruits are pickled[177]. The pulp of older fruits is eaten[179]. Mature fruits are about 10cm long[200].
Leaves and young shoots - cooked and used as a vegetable[177, 183].
An edible starch is obtained from the root[183]. It requires leeching[179], which probably means that it has a bitter flavour[K]. The root is harvested in the autumn, cut into thick slices, soaked for 4 - 5 days in water, changing the water daily until the root disintegrates and can be mashed into a fine pulp. It is then steamed into cakes or used for making dumplings[177, 178, 179].
An edible oil is obtained from the seed.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Abortifacient Antibiotic Anticholesterolemic Antifungal Antiinflammatory Antitussive Cancer Depurative Emollient Expectorant Febrifuge Galactogogue Laxative Oxytoxic Sialagogue Skin Uterine tonic Vulnerary.

This plant is commonly used in Chinese herbalism, where it is considered to be one of the 50 fundamental herbs[218]. Recent research has isolated a protein called 'trichosanthin' in the roots and this is undergoing trials as a possible remedy for AIDS[238].
Skin, vulnerary[174, 178].
The leaf and the stem are febrifuge[218].
The fruit is antibacterial, anticholesterolemic, antifungal, depurative, emollient, expectorant and laxative[147, 174, 176, 178, 238]. It is used in the treatment of pulmonary infections with yellow and thick sputum, chest pains, stuffy feelings in the chest, constipation and dry stool[176]. It has an antibacterial action against E. coli, Bacillus dysenteriae, B. typhi, B. paratyphi, Pseudomonas, Vibrio cholerae, V. Proteus etc[176]. The fruit is traditionally prepared as a winter soup to ward off colds and influenza[238]. The fruit is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use[238].
The rind of the fruit is used to treat a number of ailments, including cancer, jaundice, retained placenta, bronchial infections with thick phlegm and sore throat[176, 218, 238].
The seed is antitussive, emollient and expectorant[218].
The root is antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, febrifuge, galactogogue, laxative, oxytocic, sialagogue and uterine tonic[147, 174, 176, 178, 218, 238]. The fresh root has been noted for centuries as an abortifacient - a sponge soaked in its juice was placed in the vagina and induced an abortion in the second trimester of pregnancy[218]. The root is taken internally in the treatment of diabetes, dry coughs, and to assist in the second stage of labour[176, 238]. The root is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use[238].
The root and/or the seed is powdered and used in the treatment of mammary cancer[218].

We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.

Other Uses

Oil.

An oil from the seed is used for lighting[178].

Cultivation details

Requires a rich well-drained soil and plenty of moisture in the growing season[1, 200].
Sometimes cultivated in China for its edible fruit and medicinal uses. Male plants are favoured for root production[238]. This species is not winter hardy in Britain and usually requires greenhouse cultivation[238]. However, it may be possible to grow it as an annual in a very warm sheltered bed outdoors[1].
A climbing plant, supporting itself by means of tendrils[238].
Dioecious, male and female plants must be grown if seed is required[238].

Propagation

Seed - sow March in pots in a warm greenhouse in a rich soil. Sow 2 - 3 seeds per pot and thin to the strongest plant. Grow them on fast and plant out after the last expected frosts. Give some protection, such as a frame or cloche, until the plants are growing away well.

Suppliers

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

Web References

Latin and Worldwide Common Names From Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database by M. H. Porcher et. al. 1995 - 2000 Landcare Systems Research Laboratory, Department of Crop Production,Institute of Land and Food Resources, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic 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]).

[58] Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965
The standard work. Brilliant, but not for the casual reader.

[147] ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press ISBN 0-914294-92-X
A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.

[174] Kariyone. T. Atlas of Medicinal Plants.
A good Japanese herbal.

[176] Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985
A very good Chinese herbal.

[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.

[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
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.

[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.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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