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Japanese Snake Gourd
Trichosanthes cucumeroides
カラスウリ
A climbing perennial herb of forest edges and thickets. In summer nights, it produces white lace-like flowers, and in autumn bears red, ball-shaped fruits. Starch was also historically extracted from the root.
Identification Points
- ✓White lace-like flowers open only at night, with fringed petal margins
- ✓Fruits elliptical to spherical, turning orange-red when ripe
- ✓Clings to other plants with tendrils
Habitat
Forest edges, thickets, hedgerows, and roadsides
Season
July–August (flowers), September–November (fruits)
3D Specimen Model
Kyushu University, Shikano Lab (CC0)
View on Sketchfab→Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Pinnate
Leaf dissection
Dissected
Leaf shape
Round
Growth form
Vine
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Petal count
5 petals
Petal fusion
Fused
Stipules
Absent
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Ovary position
Inferior
Stamen count
3-4
Phylogenetic Positionウリ科 →
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core eudicots > Cucurbitales > Cucurbitaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene (about 80–70 million years ago)
Evolution Notes
Cucurbitaceae has connate stamens and mostly unisexual flowers. Nocturnal flowering is an adaptation for pollination by night-active moths.
View on evolution timeline →Sources & References
AI-generated, needs verification