Petha / Winter Melon
Benincasa hispida
- Found in India
- Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka & more
How to identify Petha
Identify Petha by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Confirm leaf surface: Hirsute.
- Confirm flower colour: Yellow.
- In India, compare location records such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Cucurbitaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Petha.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Benincasa hispida
- Genus
- Benincasa
- Family
- Cucurbitaceae
- Found in India
- Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtra, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf surface
- HirsuterecordedCovered in coarse, stiff, bristly hairs.“It has large, rough leaves with a width between 10–30 centimetres (4–12 in) long.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Petha itself; the rest are typical of the Cucurbitaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Yellowrecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Solitary
- Fruit
- Berry
Characters marked “recorded” are for Petha itself; the rest are typical of the Cucurbitaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- petha
- Kannada
- ಬೂದು ಕುಂಬಳಕಾಯಿ
- Assamese
- চাল কোমোৰা
About Petha
Winter Melon (Benincasa hispida) is a species in the Cucurbitaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and 10 other states.
Uses
Locally it is grown for parts that are eaten and long used in traditional medicine. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice.
Cucurbitaceae
Cucumber/Gourd family
Petha belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Cucurbitaceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Petha or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.
Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guides