The bitter melon (Chinese: 苦瓜; pinyin: kǔguā), also called bitter gourd, balsampear, or balsamapple, is the edible fruit of the plantMomordica charantia. The bitter melon grows in tropical and subtropical climates. The fruit is green (orange-yellow when ripe) and has warty appearance and oblong shape. The name bitter comes from the bitter taste of the vegetable considered the most bitter among all edible vegetables. Flower of Bittermelon Photo by : SEKIUCHI Date : 2004-Aug-03 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Divisions Green algae Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular embryophytes Hepatophyta - liverworts Anthocerophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Seedless vascular plants Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also angiosperms or Magnoliophyta) are one of the major groups of modern plants, comprising those that produce seeds in specialized reproductive organs called flowers, where the ovulary or carpel is enclosed. ... Orders see text Dicotyledons or dicots are flowering plants whose seed contains two embryonic leaves or cotyledons. ... Families see text Violales used to be an order of flowering plants in the Cronquist classification. ... Genera Abobra Acanthosicyos Actinostemma Alsomitra Ampelosycios Anacaona Apatzingania Apodanthera Bambekea Benincasa Biswarea Bolbostemma Brandegea Bryonia Calycophysum Cayaponia Cephalopentandra Ceratosanthes Chalema Cionosicyos Citrullus Coccinia Cogniauxia Corallocarpus Cremastopus Ctenolepis Cucumella Cucumeropsis Cucumis Cucurbita Cucurbitella Cyclanthera Dactyliandra Dendrosicyos Dicoelospermum Dieterlea Diplocyclos Doyerea Ecballium Echinocystis Echinopepon Edgaria Elateriopsis Eureiandra Fevillea Gerrardanthus Gomphogyne Gurania Guraniopsis... In biology, binomial nomenclature is a standard convention used for naming species. ... Pinyin (拼音, pīnyīn) literally means join (together) sounds (a less literal translation being phoneticize, spell or transcription) in Chinese and usually refers to Hànyǔ Pīnyīn (汉语拼音, literal meaning: Han language pinyin), which is a system of romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration to roman script) for Standard Mandarin used in the... Divisions Green algae Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular embryophytes Hepatophyta - liverworts Anthocerophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Seedless vascular plants Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants...
The vegetable is 10 to 20 cm long with tapering ends and covered with blunt tubercles. The seeds are white in raw fruits and become red when they are ripe. There are two varieties of this vegetable. The large kind is long, oblong and pale green in color. The other kind is small, litte oval and dark green. Both turn reddish-orange when ripe.
The original home of bitter gourd is not known except that it is a native of the tropics. It is widely grown in South and south east asia as well as in China and Caribbean. It is often used in Chinese cooking for its bitter flavour. It is also cultivated extensively all over India and a type of chips called karela chips are quite relished. It is however seldom mixed with other vegetables due to its extreme bitterness. Human taste sensory organs, called taste buds or gustatory calyculi, and concentrated on the upper surface of the tongue, appear to be receptive to relatively few chemical species as tastes. ...
Bitter melons also have various uses as traditional medicine around the world, and has potential use for treating HIV infections. Bitter melon is also used often in Okinawan cuisine; it is called gōyā in Okinawa. In Indian ayurvedic medicine, it is popularly seen as a "plant-insulin" and is thus highly recommended for diabetics. Even in western medicine due to its high nutrition content it is advised that patients take this vegetable regularly. The term traditional medicine is used with two main meanings. ... HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a retrovirus that infects cells of the human immune system. ... This article is about the prefecture. ... This article is about the disease that features high blood sugar. ...
References
H.K.Bakhru (1997). Foods that Heal. The Natural Way to Good Health. Orient Paperbacks. ISBN 81-222-0033-8.
A gourd is a hollow, dried shell of a fruit in the Cucurbitaceae family of plants.
Gourds are also used as a tool for sipping yerba mate by means of a bombilla, in Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil, where it is called "cuia" (kOOya).
Gourds were the earliest plant species domesticated by humans and were originally used by man as containers or vessels before clay or stone pottery, and is sometimes referred to as "nature's pottery".
Bitter melons are seldom mixed with other vegetables due to the strong bitter taste, although this can be moderated to some extent by salting and then washing the cut melon before use.
Bitter melon is often used in Chinese cooking for its bitter flavor, typically in stir-fries (often with pork and douchi), soups, and also as tea.
Bitter melon is rarely used in mainland Japan, but is a significant component of Okinawan cuisine.
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