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Chinese Cucumber

Trichosanthes kirilowii

Also called Chinese Snake Gourd, Mongolian Snakegourd

A scrambling perennial vine from northern and eastern China and Japan, grown for its ornamental fruits and used in traditional Chinese medicine. It needs a sturdy support, a sunny spot, and a long warm season to flower and fruit.

Family: Cucurbitaceae (Gourd family)
Grows as: Climber
Light: Full sun
Water: Water regularly during the growing season and let the top of the soil dry slightly between waterings.
Soil: Fertile, well-drained loam with added compost.
Temperature: 18–28 °C; hardy to about -20 °C in its native range
How easy: Moderate
Safety: Toxic: Roots, seeds and fruit contain trichosanthin and related proteins that can cause poisoning if eaten raw or in excess.
Native range: N. & E. China to Japan and Indo-China
Climate: temperate

About

Trichosanthes kirilowii is a flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae found particularly in Henan, Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi, and Shaanxi (China). It is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine, where it shares the name guālóu (Chinese: 栝蔞) with the related T. rosthornii. It is known as "Chinese cucumber" and "Chinese snake gourd" in English.

Other Trichosanthes plants

Snakegourd · Pointed gourd · Snake Gourd · Snake Gourds

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Trichosanthes kirilowii by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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