Taxon: Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt

Summary

Genus:

Coccinia

Family:

Cucurbitaceae

Tribe:

Benincaseae

Nomen number:

10974

Place of publication:

Hort. suburb. Calcutt. 59. 1845

Protologue link:

https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/31323933

Verified:

08/13/2015 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

2 (1 active, 1 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Basionym
Bryonia grandis L.

Homotypic Synonym(s)
Coccinia indica Wight & Arn.

Invalid Designation(s)
Coccinia cordifolia auct.

No images

Links

Forestry Images – from www.forestryimages.org

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Aubréville, A. et al., eds. 1960-. Flore du Cambodge du Laos et du Viet-Nam.
Aubréville, A. et al., eds. 1963-. Flore du Cameroun.
Berhaut, J. 1971-. Flore illustrée du Senegal.
Boudet, G. et al. 1986. Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Mali
Burkill, H. M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa. 1:575.
Chakravarty, H. L. 1982. Cucurbitaceae. In: Botanical Survey of India, Fascicles of flora of India. 11:24-26.
Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
Decker-Walters, D. S. 1999. Cucurbit, Sanskrit, and the Indo-Aryas. Econ. Bot. 53:108.
Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
Hamid, S. et al. 1995. Medicinal plants of family Cucurbitaceae of Pakistan (part II). Hamdard 38:98.
Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
Holstein, N. & S. S. Renner. 2011. Coccinia intermedia – a new Cucurbitaceae species from West Africa. PhytoKeys 7:27-36.
Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
Jardin botanique national de Belgique. 1967-. Flore du Congo, du Rwanda et du Burundi (Flore d'Afrique centrale).
Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
Kunkel, G. 1984. Plants for human consumption
Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
Peter, K. V. et al. 1998. Improvement and cultivation: bitter gourd, snake gourd, pointed gourd, and ivy gourd. In: N. M. Nayar & T. A. More (eds.), Cucurbits. 194.
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Seed Regulatory and Testing Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.D.A. State noxious-weed seed requirements recognized in the administration of the Federal Seed Act (updated annually).
Siemonsma, J. S. & Kasem Piluek, eds. 1993. Vegetables. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 8:150.
Smith, A. C. 1979-1991. Flora vitiensis nova.
Smitinand, T. & K. Larsen, eds. 1970-. Flora of Thailand.
Thulin, M., ed. 1993-. Flora of Somalia.
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	ivy gourd	1	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
English	little gourd	1	Peter, K. V. et al. 1998. Improvement and cultivation: bitter gourd, snake gourd, pointed gourd, and ivy gourd. In: N. M. Nayar & T. A. More (eds.), Cucurbits. 194.
German	Tindola	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
India	kundree	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
India	tindora	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
India	tindori	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Malay	pepasan	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	pepino cimarrón	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Swedish	scharlakansgurka	2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Urdu (Pakistan)	kanduri	2	Hamid, S. et al. 1995. Medicinal plants of family Cucurbitaceae of Pakistan (part II). Hamdard 38:98.
Urdu (Pakistan)	kundur	2	Hamid, S. et al. 1995. Medicinal plants of family Cucurbitaceae of Pakistan (part II). Hamdard 38:98.

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Kenya			Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Tanzania		n.	Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Uganda			Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Chad		s.	Berhaut, J. 1971-. Flore illustrée du Senegal.
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Djibouti			Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Eritrea			Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Ethiopia			Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Somalia			Thulin, M., ed. 1993-. Flora of Somalia.
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Sudan			Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Egypt			Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Malawi			Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Benin			Holstein, N. & S. S. Renner. 2011. Coccinia intermedia – a new Cucurbitaceae species from West Africa. PhytoKeys 7:27-36.
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Mali			Boudet, G. et al. 1986. Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Mali
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Mauritania		s.	Holstein, N. & S. S. Renner. 2011. Coccinia intermedia – a new Cucurbitaceae species from West Africa. PhytoKeys 7:27-36.
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Niger			Holstein, N. & S. S. Renner. 2011. Coccinia intermedia – a new Cucurbitaceae species from West Africa. PhytoKeys 7:27-36.
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Nigeria			Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Senegal			Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Cameroon			Aubréville, A. et al., eds. 1963-. Flore du Cameroun.
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Central African Republic			Berhaut, J. 1971-. Flore illustrée du Senegal.
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Democratic Republic of the Congo			Jardin botanique national de Belgique. 1967-. Flore du Congo, du Rwanda et du Burundi (Flore d'Afrique centrale).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Yemen			Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Guangdong Sheng		Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Guangxi Zhuangzu Zizhiqu		Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Hainan Sheng		Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Yunnan Sheng		Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Bangladesh			Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Andhra Pradesh		Chakravarty, H. L. 1982. Cucurbitaceae. In: Botanical Survey of India, Fascicles of flora of India. 11:24-26.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Bihar		Chakravarty, H. L. 1982. Cucurbitaceae. In: Botanical Survey of India, Fascicles of flora of India. 11:24-26.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Gujarat		Chakravarty, H. L. 1982. Cucurbitaceae. In: Botanical Survey of India, Fascicles of flora of India. 11:24-26.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Kerala		Chakravarty, H. L. 1982. Cucurbitaceae. In: Botanical Survey of India, Fascicles of flora of India. 11:24-26.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Odisha		Chakravarty, H. L. 1982. Cucurbitaceae. In: Botanical Survey of India, Fascicles of flora of India. 11:24-26.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Rajasthan		Chakravarty, H. L. 1982. Cucurbitaceae. In: Botanical Survey of India, Fascicles of flora of India. 11:24-26.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Tamil Nadu		Chakravarty, H. L. 1982. Cucurbitaceae. In: Botanical Survey of India, Fascicles of flora of India. 11:24-26.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Tripura		Chakravarty, H. L. 1982. Cucurbitaceae. In: Botanical Survey of India, Fascicles of flora of India. 11:24-26.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Uttar Pradesh		Chakravarty, H. L. 1982. Cucurbitaceae. In: Botanical Survey of India, Fascicles of flora of India. 11:24-26.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	West Bengal		Chakravarty, H. L. 1982. Cucurbitaceae. In: Botanical Survey of India, Fascicles of flora of India. 11:24-26.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Nepal			Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Pakistan			Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Sri Lanka			Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Cambodia			Aubréville, A. et al., eds. 1960-. Flore du Cambodge du Laos et du Viet-Nam.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Laos			Aubréville, A. et al., eds. 1960-. Flore du Cambodge du Laos et du Viet-Nam.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Myanmar			Chakravarty, H. L. 1982. Cucurbitaceae. In: Botanical Survey of India, Fascicles of flora of India. 11:24-26.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Thailand			Smitinand, T. & K. Larsen, eds. 1970-. Flora of Thailand.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Vietnam			Aubréville, A. et al., eds. 1960-. Flore du Cambodge du Laos et du Viet-Nam.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia			Aubréville, A. et al., eds. 1960-. Flore du Cambodge du Laos et du Viet-Nam.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Malaysia			Aubréville, A. et al., eds. 1960-. Flore du Cambodge du Laos et du Viet-Nam.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Papuasia	Papua New Guinea			Aubréville, A. et al., eds. 1960-. Flore du Cambodge du Laos et du Viet-Nam.
2	Cultivated					widely cult.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Mauritius			Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Maldives			Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Northern Territory		Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Queensland		Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Western Australia		Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Florida		Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
4	Naturalized	Pacific	North-Central Pacific	United States	Hawaii		Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Northwestern Pacific	United States	Guam		Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Northwestern Pacific	United States	United States Minor Outlying Islands		Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Southwestern Pacific	Fiji			Smith, A. C. 1979-1991. Flora vitiensis nova.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Brazil	Brazil			Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Caribbean	Barbados			Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Caribbean	Cuba			Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Caribbean	United States	Puerto Rico		Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Central America	Nicaragua			Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Northern South America	French Guiana			Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Northern South America	Guyana			Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Northern South America	Suriname			Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.

Native
Africa

NORTHERN AFRICA: Egypt
NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Chad (s.)
EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania (n.), Uganda
WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Central African Republic, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo
WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Benin, Mali, Mauritania (s.), Niger, Nigeria, Senegal
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Malawi

Asia-Temperate

ARABIAN PENINSULA: Yemen
CHINA: China [Guangdong Sheng, Guangxi Zhuangzu Zizhiqu, Hainan Sheng, Yunnan Sheng]

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Bangladesh, India [Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Kerala, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal], Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan
PAPUASIA: Papua New Guinea
INDO-CHINA: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam
MALESIA: Indonesia, Malaysia

Cultivated (widely cult.)
Naturalized
Africa

WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Mauritius

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Maldives

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia [Queensland, Western Australia, Northern Territory]

Northern America

SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Florida]

Pacific

NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii]
NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC: United States [Guam, United States Minor Outlying Islands]
SOUTHWESTERN PACIFIC: Fiji

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: Barbados, Cuba, United States [Puerto Rico]
CENTRAL AMERICA: Nicaragua
NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname
BRAZIL: Brazil

Reference(s)

Aubréville, A. et al., eds. 1960-. Flore du Cambodge du Laos et du Viet-Nam.
Aubréville, A. et al., eds. 1963-. Flore du Cameroun.
Berhaut, J. 1971-. Flore illustrée du Senegal.
Boudet, G. et al. 1986. Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Mali
Chakravarty, H. L. 1982. Cucurbitaceae. In: Botanical Survey of India, Fascicles of flora of India. 11:24-26.
Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
Holstein, N. & S. S. Renner. 2011. Coccinia intermedia – a new Cucurbitaceae species from West Africa. PhytoKeys 7:27-36.
Holstein, N. 2015. Monograph of Coccinia (Cucurbitaceae). PhytoKeys 54:78.
Jardin botanique national de Belgique. 1967-. Flore du Congo, du Rwanda et du Burundi (Flore d'Afrique centrale).
Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
Smith, A. C. 1979-1991. Flora vitiensis nova.
Smitinand, T. & K. Larsen, eds. 1970-. Flora of Thailand.
Thulin, M., ed. 1993-. Flora of Somalia.
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Animal food	forage	grazed by all stock	Burkill, H. M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa. 1:575.
Human food	fruit	leaves	Burkill, H. M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa. 1:575.
Human food	vegetable	leaves	Burkill, H. M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa. 1:575.
Medicines	folklore		Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Medicines	folklore		Hamid, S. et al. 1995. Medicinal plants of family Cucurbitaceae of Pakistan (part II). Hamdard 38:98.
Medicines	folklore		Decker-Walters, D. S. 1999. Cucurbit, Sanskrit, and the Indo-Aryas. Econ. Bot. 53:108.
Medicines	folklore		McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Weed	seed contaminant	potential	Seed Regulatory and Testing Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.D.A. State noxious-weed seed requirements recognized in the administration of the Federal Seed Act (updated annually).

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=10974. Accessed 15 April 2026.