Taxon: Benincasa hispida (Thunb.) Cogn.

Summary

Genus:

Benincasa

Family:

Cucurbitaceae

Tribe:

Benincaseae

Nomen number:

6746

Place of publication:

A. L. P. P. de Candolle & A. C. de Candolle, Monogr. phan. 3:513. 1881

Verified:

05/09/1995 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

106 (29 active, 10 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

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

Basionym
Cucurbita hispida Thunb.

Homotypic Synonym(s)
Benincasa pruriens (Seem.) W. J. de Wilde & Duyfjes f. hispida (Thunb.) W. J. de Wilde & Duyfjes
Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl. var. hispida (Thunb.) H. Hara

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Benincasa cerifera Savi
Benincasa pruriens (Seem.) W. J. de Wilde & Duyfjes
Benincasa pruriens (Seem.) W. J. de Wilde & Duyfjes f. pruriens
Cucurbita pruriens Seem.

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

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.
Botanical Survey of India. 1978-. Fascicles of flora of India.
Chakravarty, H. L. 1990. Cucurbits of India and their role in the development of vegetable crops. In: Bates, D. M. et al., Biology and utilization of the Cucurbitaceae 328.
Decker-Walters, D. S. 1999. Cucurbit, Sanskrit, and the Indo-Aryas. Econ. Bot. 53:105.
Demilly, D. et al. 1996. Liste alphabétique des principales espèces de plantes cultivées et de mauvaises herbes. Noms latins et noms français, ed. 6. Note: GEVES-SNES, Beaucouzé, France
Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen 2:1241.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
Govaerts, R. World checklist of selected plant families (on-line resource).
Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
Kawaide, T. 1985. Utilization of rootstocks in Cucurbits production in Japan. Jap. Agric. Res. Quart. 18:285-288.
King, S. R. et al. 2010. Genetics, breeding and selection of rootstocks for Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae. Sci. Hort. 127:106-111.
Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Mun-Chan, B. et al. 1986. A checklist of the Korean cultivated plants. Kulturpflanze 34:84.
Office of the Union. 2009. UPOV: International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. List of the taxa protected by the members of the Union
Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
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
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) 8:95.
Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana. Note: = Benincasa pruriens "(Parkinson) W. J. de Wilde & Duyfjes" f. hispida (Thunb.) W. J. de Wilde & Duyfjes
Wilde, W. W. J. O. de & B. E. E. Duyfjes. 2008. Miscellaneous South East Asian cucurbit news. Reinwardtia 12:267-274. Note: = Benincasa pruriens (Parkinson) W. J. de Wilde & Duyfjes
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Common names

Language	Name	Alternate name	seq	Citation
English	ash gourd		1	Chakravarty, H. L. 1990. Cucurbits of India and their role in the development of vegetable crops. In: Bates, D. M. et al., Biology and utilization of the Cucurbitaceae 328.
English	ash-pumpkin		1	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
English	Chinese preserving-melon		1	Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
English	Chinese-watermelon		1	Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
English	wax gourd		1	Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
English	white gourd		1	Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
English	white-pumpkin		1	Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
English	winter-melon		1	McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Chinese	dong gua	冬瓜	2	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
French	benincasa		2	Demilly, D. et al. 1996. Liste alphabétique des principales espèces de plantes cultivées et de mauvaises herbes. Noms latins et noms français, ed. 6. Note: GEVES-SNES, Beaucouzé, France
French	courge à cire		2	Office of the Union. 2009. UPOV: International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. List of the taxa protected by the members of the Union
French	courge cireuse		2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
French	pastèque de Chine		2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
German	Wachskürbis		2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
India	petha		2	Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
Indonesian	kundur		2	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) 8:95.
Japanese Rōmaji	tōgan		2	Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
Malay	kundor		2	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) 8:95.
Portuguese	abóbora-d'água		2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	calabaza blanca		2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Swedish	vaxpumpa		2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Transcribed Korean	donga		2	Mun-Chan, B. et al. 1986. A checklist of the Korean cultivated plants. Kulturpflanze 34:84.

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Papuasia	Papua New Guinea			Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana. Note: = Benincasa pruriens (Parkinson) W. J. de Wilde & Duyfjes
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Papuasia	Solomon Islands			Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana. Note: = Benincasa pruriens (Parkinson) W. J. de Wilde & Duyfjes
1	Native	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Queensland		Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana. Note: = Benincasa pruriens (Parkinson) W. J. de Wilde & Duyfjes
2	Cultivated	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Kenya			PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Tanzania			PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Malawi			PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Mozambique			PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zambia			PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zimbabwe			PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Asia-Temperate	China	China			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
2	Cultivated	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan			Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
2	Cultivated	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Korea			Govaerts, R. World checklist of selected plant families (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Taiwan			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) 8:95.
2	Cultivated	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India			Botanical Survey of India. 1978-. Fascicles of flora of India.
2	Cultivated	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Cambodia			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) 8:95.
2	Cultivated	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Laos			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) 8:95.
2	Cultivated	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Thailand			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) 8:95.
2	Cultivated	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Vietnam			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) 8:95.
2	Cultivated	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia			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) 8:95.
2	Cultivated	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Malaysia			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) 8:95.
2	Cultivated	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Philippines			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) 8:95.
2	Cultivated	Australasia	Australia	Australia			Govaerts, R. World checklist of selected plant families (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Northern America		Mexico			Govaerts, R. World checklist of selected plant families (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Northern America		North America			Govaerts, R. World checklist of selected plant families (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Pacific	North-Central Pacific	United States	Hawaii		Govaerts, R. World checklist of selected plant families (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Southern America	Brazil	Brazil			Govaerts, R. World checklist of selected plant families (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Southern America	Central America	Guatemala			Govaerts, R. World checklist of selected plant families (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Southern America	Northern South America	Venezuela			Govaerts, R. World checklist of selected plant families (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Southern America	Southern South America	Argentina			Govaerts, R. World checklist of selected plant families (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Southern America	Southern South America	Chile			Govaerts, R. World checklist of selected plant families (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Southern America	Western South America	Bolivia			Govaerts, R. World checklist of selected plant families (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Southern America	Western South America	Colombia			Govaerts, R. World checklist of selected plant families (on-line resource).
2	Cultivated	Southern America	Western South America	Peru			Govaerts, R. World checklist of selected plant families (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia	Jawa		Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana. Note: = Benincasa pruriens (Parkinson) W. J. de Wilde & Duyfjes
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia	Kalimantan		Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana. Note: = Benincasa pruriens (Parkinson) W. J. de Wilde & Duyfjes
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia	Lesser Sunda Islands		Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana. Note: = Benincasa pruriens (Parkinson) W. J. de Wilde & Duyfjes
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia	Sulawesi		Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana. Note: = Benincasa pruriens (Parkinson) W. J. de Wilde & Duyfjes
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Malaysia	Sabah		Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana. Note: = Benincasa pruriens (Parkinson) W. J. de Wilde & Duyfjes
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Malaysia	Sarawak		Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana. Note: = Benincasa pruriens (Parkinson) W. J. de Wilde & Duyfjes
6	Other					origin uncertain	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Native
Asia-Tropical

PAPUASIA: Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia [Queensland]

Cultivated
Africa

EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Asia-Temperate

CHINA: China
EASTERN ASIA: Korea, Japan, Taiwan

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India
INDO-CHINA: Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam
MALESIA: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia

Northern America

REGION: North America, Mexico

Pacific

NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii]

Southern America

CENTRAL AMERICA: Guatemala
NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Venezuela
BRAZIL: Brazil
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Bolivia, Colombia, Peru
SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Chile

Naturalized
Asia-Tropical

MALESIA: Indonesia [Jawa, Kalimantan, Lesser Sunda Islands, Sulawesi], Malaysia [Sabah, Sarawak]

Other (origin uncertain)

Reference(s)

PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Botanical Survey of India. 1978-. Fascicles of flora of India.
Govaerts, R. World checklist of selected plant families (on-line resource).
Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
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) 8:95.
Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana. Note: = Benincasa pruriens (Parkinson) W. J. de Wilde & Duyfjes
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Human food	fruit		Decker-Walters, D. S. 1999. Cucurbit, Sanskrit, and the Indo-Aryas. Econ. Bot. 53:105.
Human food	fruit	used as vegetable	Chakravarty, H. L. 1990. Cucurbits of India and their role in the development of vegetable crops. In: Bates, D. M. et al., Biology and utilization of the Cucurbitaceae 328.
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.

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=6746. Accessed 11 May 2026.