Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt Cucurbitaceae
Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt: Bryonia grandis L.; Cephalandra indica Naudin; Coccinia cordifolia (L.) Cogn.; Coccinia indica Wight & Arn.
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Synonyms Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt: Bryonia grandis L.; Cephalandra indica Naudin; Coccinia cordifolia (L.) Cogn.; Coccinia indica Wight & Arn.
Local Names Coccinia grandis: Kikuyu: Kigerema; Swahili: Ruho; Luo: Mutkuru, NyathundGuok (Gachati 1989; Kokwaro 2009); English: Ivy gourd, Scarlet-fruited gourd, Tindori
R. W. Bussmann (*) Department of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany and Bakuriani Alpine Botanical Garden, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia Saving Knowledge, La Paz, Bolivia e-mail: [email protected] N. Y. Paniagua-Zambrana Department of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany and Bakuriani Alpine Botanical Garden, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia Herbario Nacionál de Bolivia, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz, Bolivia G. N. Njoroge Department of Botany, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agricultura and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 R. W. Bussmann (ed.), Ethnobotany of the Mountain Regions of Africa, Ethnobotany of Mountain Regions, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77086-4_44-1
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Botany and Ecology Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt: Climber to 20 m, stem glabrous except at nodes, becoming white-punctate when older. Leaf-lamina 3.5–11.5 3.5–15.5 cm, broadly ovate in outline, cordate, glabrous, punctate, palmately 3–5-lobed, lobes shallowly triangular to elliptic, entire or sinuate-dentate, sometimes lobulate. Petiole 1–5 cm long, glabrous or almost so. Tendrils simple. Male flowers solitary, pedicels 7– 70 mm long. Receptacle-tube 3–7 mm long, obconic, expanded above, lobes 2.5– 6 mm long, triangular to lanceolate or oblanceolate. Corolla campanulate, pale yellow, green-veined, the lobes 1.5–2 1–1.5 cm. Female flowers solitary, axillary, pedicels 4–25 mm long, ovary 5–15 1.5–3.5 mm, ellipsoid-cylindrical, receptacletube 2–7 mm long, shortly cylindrical, lobes 2–4 mm long, corolla-lobes 2– 3.2 0.7–1.3 cm. Fruit 3–6.5 1.5–3.5 cm, ellipsoid, obtuse, red. Seeds 6 3 1.5 mm, asymmetrically ovate in outline, compressed, with flat faces and thick 2-grooved margins. Coccinia grandis occurs wild from Senegal east to Somalia and south to Tanzania, Yemen, and India. It is locally naturalized in Mozambique and Mauritius and has been introduced in many other tropical and subtropical regions. In East Africa, especially in Kenya, it is cultivated mainly for consumers of Indian origin (Jeffrey 1967).
Local Medicinal Uses Coccinia grandis: The fruits, stems, and leaves have medicinal uses such as to reduce high blood pressure and to treat abscesses. Roots are believed to heal illnesses associated with endocrine system disorders such as diabetes mellitus and are used in Niger to treat intestinal troubles. Bronchial inflammation, respiratory mucosa, and skin disorders are also said to be healed by this plant. Pounded leaves with fat are applied externally for spleen problems, lower abdominal pain, and to lighten the skin (Kokwaro 2009). The juice is applied to skin infections and wounds (Teklehaymanot and Giday
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