毒瓜 du gua

Bryonia palmata Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 1012. 1753; B. affinis Endlicher; Bryonopsis affinis (Endlicher) Cogniaux; B. laciniosa (Linnaeus) Naudin var. erythrocarpa Naudin; B. laciniosa var. walkeri Chakravarty; Ilocania pedata Merrill.

Root tuberous. Stems slender, glabrous. Tendrils glabrous. Petiole 4-6 cm, slightly puberulent; leaf blade broadly ovate, 8-12 × 8-12 cm, membranous, palmately 5-lobed; middle lobe oblong-lanceolate, 8-10 × 2-3.5 cm, apex acuminate or obtuse; lateral lobes short, lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, both surfaces subglabrous, sinus rounded. Male and female flowers usually fasciculate in same axil. Male flowers: pedicel slender, 5-15 mm; calyx tube ca. 2 × 5-6 mm; segments subulate, 0.5-1 mm; corolla green-yellow, ca. 7 mm in diam.; segments ovate, ca. 2 × 0.5-1 mm; stamens 3; filaments 1-1.5 mm; anthers ovoid, ca. 2 mm; anther cells reflexed. Female flowers: calyx and corolla as in male flowers; ovary ovoid, smooth. Fruit yellow-green to red, narrowly white striped, globose, indehiscent, 14-18 mm in diam., smooth. Seeds few, brown, ovate, ca. 5 × 3 mm. Fl. Mar-Aug, fr. Sep-Dec.

Forests, thickets; ca. 1000 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan [Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Japan (Ryukyu Islands), Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam; tropical Africa, Australia].

The fruit and roots contain toxin.