Ban Karela / Teasle Gourd
Momordica dioica
- Habit
- Climber
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat & more
- Flowering
- July-October
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Momordica dioica
- Genus
- Momordica
- Family
- Cucurbitaceae
- Habit
- Climber
- Habitat
- Deciduous and semi-Evergreen forests, also in the plains
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Distribution
- India, Sri Lanka, Himalayas, Myanmar, China, Malaysia
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam, West Bengal, Nagaland, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Manipur, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh
- Flowering & fruiting
- July-October
- 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 Ban Karela itself; the rest are typical of the Cucurbitaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- बन करेला Ban karela, kaksa, ककोड़ा
- Nepali
- वन करेला
- Bengali
- কাঁকরোল, কাকরোল
- Tamil
- தும்பை
- Telugu
- ఆగాకర, మొమోర్డికా డయాకా
- Kannada
- ಮಡಿಹಾಗಲು Madihaagalu, ಮಡಹಾಗಲ Madahaagala, ಮಡವಾಗಲ್
- Malayalam
- എരുമപ്പാവൽ, Momordica dioica, എരുമപാവൽ
- Marathi
- करटोली Kartoli, करटोली, करतुली
- Sinhala
- තුඹ කරවිල
About Ban Karela
Teasle Gourd (Momordica dioica) belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family, where it grows as a climber. In India it has been recorded in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat and 23 other states. It grows in deciduous and semi-Evergreen forests, also in the plains. Flowering and fruiting run from July to October.
Cucurbitaceae
Cucumber/Gourd family
Ban Karela belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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