Momordica is a genus of about 60 species of annual or perennial climbers herbaceous

Herbaceous

A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...

 or rarely small shrubs belonging to the family Cucurbitaceae

Cucurbitaceae

The plant family Cucurbitaceae consists of various squashes, melons, and gourds, including crops such as cucumber, pumpkins, luffas, and watermelons...

, natives of tropical and subtropical Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 and Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

 and Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Most species produce floral oils and are visited by specialist pollinators in the apid

Apidae

The Apidae are a large family of bees, comprising the common honey bees, stingless bees , carpenter bees, orchid bees, cuckoo bees, bumblebees, and various other less well-known groups...

 tribe Ctenoplectrini

Ctenoplectrini

The bee tribe Ctenoplectrini, with two genera, comprises nine species in tropical Africa, ten in Asia and one in Australia. Most of them collect floral oil, pollen, and nectar from a few genera of Cucurbitaceae, but three species are thought to be kleptoparasites...

.

Cultivation and uses

Some Momordica species are grown in cultivation for their fleshy fruit

Fruit

In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...

, which are oblong to cylindrical in shape, orange to red in colour, prickly or warted externally, and in Momordica charantia burst when ripe, generally with elastic force, into irregular valves.

Momordica charantia (bitter melon

Bitter melon

Momordica charantia, called bitter melon or bitter gourd in English, is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae, widely grown in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean for its edible fruit, which is among the most bitter of all fruits...

, Chinese: ku gua 苦瓜) is native to Africa but has been used in Chinese folk medicine for centuries as a 'bitter, cold' herb, and has recently been brought into mainstream Chinese medicine as well as natural medical traditions around the world. Recent research has shown that the immature fruit might have some antibiotic, anticancer, and antiviral properties, particularly well suited for use in treatment of malaria, HIV, and diabetic conditions (the use of Momordica fruit is contraindicated in a number of conditions, especially pregnancy - all Chinese medicinals should be used only under the supervision of a trained herbalist of Traditional Chinese Medicine).
The leaves and seeds have additional medical applications.

Accepted species

Momordica angolensis R.Fernandes Momordica angustisepala Harms Momordica anigosantha Hook.f. Momordica balsamina Momordica balsamina Momordica balsamina is a tendril-bearing annual vine native to the tropical regions of Africa, introduced and invasive in Asia, Australia, and Central America. It has pale yellow, deeply veined flowers and round, somewhat warty, bright orange fruits, or "Apples". When ripe, the fruits burst... L. Momordica boivinii Baill. Momordica cabrae (Cogn.) C.Jeffrey Momordica calantha Gilg Momordica camerounensis Keraudren Momordica charantia L. - Bitter melon Bitter melon Momordica charantia, called bitter melon or bitter gourd in English, is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae, widely grown in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean for its edible fruit, which is among the most bitter of all fruits... Momordica cissoides Planch. ex Benth. Momordica clarkeana King Momordica cochinchinensis (Lour.) Spreng. - Gac Gac Momordica cochinchinensis is a Southeast Asian fruit found throughout the region from Southern China to Northeastern Australia.-Etymology:It is commonly known as gac, from the Vietnamese gấc or quả gấc... Momordica corymbifera Hook.f. Momordica cymbalaria Momordica cymbalaria Momordica cymbalaria is a vine of the Momordica genus found in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh,... Hook.f. Momordica denticulata Miq. Momordica denudata C.B.Clarke Momordica dioica Roxb. ex Willd. Momordica enneaphylla Momordica enneaphylla Momordica enneaphylla is a species of plant in the Cucurbitaceae family. It is found in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Gabon. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical swamps. It is threatened by habitat loss.-Source:*... Cogn. Momordica foetida Momordica foetida Momordica foetida is a perennial climbing vine native of tropical Africa, closely related to the bitter melon and balsam apple . Its species name refers to its unpleasant smell. It was previously named M. morkorra and M... Schumach. Momordica glabra Zimmerman Momordica henriquesii Cogn. Momordica involucrata E.Mey. Momordica jeffreyana Keraudren

Momordica laotica Gagnep. Momordica leiocarpa Gilg Momordica littorea Thulin Momordica macrophylla Gage Momordica mannii Hook.f. Momordica mossambica H.Schaef. Momordica multiflora Hook.f. Momordica obtusisepala Keraudren Momordica parvifolia Cogn. Momordica peteri A.Zimm. Momordica pterocarpa Hochst. Momordica repens Bremek. Momordica rostrata A.Zimm. Momordica sessilifolia Cogn. Momordica silvatica Jongkind. Momordica spinosa Chiov. Momordica suringarii Cogn. Momordica trifoliolata Hook.f. Momordica welwitschii Hook.f.

List sources