Annual, climber or trailer, monoecious. Stem robust, villous to hispid. Tendrils slender, 2-3-fid. Petiole hirsute. Leaves sparingly pinnatifid, lamina sparsely hispid all over, densely hispid on veins and veinlets of under surface; margin minutely denticulate, apparently entire; young leaves villous to densely hispid. Probract spathulate, c. 0.8 cm long. Flowers solitary, yellow, small. Male pedicel c. 1 mm long, calyx campanulate, hairy, lobes obconic, c. 8 mm long. Stamens 3, one free, others connate; female: calyx broadly campanulate, lobes c. 5 mm long, lanceolate. Ovary villous or softly hairy. Fruit almost spherical, c. 6 cm in diameter. Seeds ovate-oblong, c. 8 mm long, yellowish-white, smooth.

Fl.Per.: March-Sept.

Type: Described from India.

Distribution: Same as that of genus.

Cultivated in most parts of India and Pakistan for its tender fruits which are used as vegetable. There are two forms of this species, one with light green fruit and the other with dark green fruit. The former is generally preferred. The roasted seeds are also eaten.