Appakovai / Stinky Haap
Kedrostis foetidissima
- Habit
- Climber
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh
- Flowering
- December-March
How to identify Appakovai
Identify Appakovai by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a climber habit.
- Confirm flower colour: Yellow.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: December-March.
- In India, compare location records such as Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh.
- Confirm it sits within the Cucurbitaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Appakovai.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Kedrostis foetidissima
- Genus
- Kedrostis
- Family
- Cucurbitaceae
- Habit
- Climber
- Habitat
- Scrub forests
- Distribution
- India, Tropical Africa, Tropical Asia to Myanmar
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh
- Flowering & fruiting
- December-March
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Typical of the Cucurbitaceae family — a field-mark hint, not measured for this exact species.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Yellowrecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Solitary
- Fruit
- Berry
Characters marked “recorded” are for Appakovai itself; the rest are typical of the Cucurbitaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Tamil
- Appakovai
About Appakovai
Stinky Haap (Kedrostis foetidissima) is a climber in the Cucurbitaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh. It grows in scrub forests. Flowering and fruiting run from December to March.
Cucurbitaceae
Cucumber/Gourd family
Appakovai 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 Appakovai 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