臺灣瓜科植物之研究

Study on the Taiwan Cucurbitaceae

The gourd family is distinguished by its tendril-bearing herbaceous stems, the unisexual flowers with inferior ovaries, with generally 3 parietal placentae which almost completely fill the locules and the unusual modification of the androecium. The about 100 genera and 850 species of this family are mostly distributed in tropical regions around the world, many extending into the temperate zone. There are many species such as: cucumis 胡瓜 (Cucumis sativus L.), melons 香瓜 (Cucumis melo L.), ,watermelon 西瓜 (Citrullus vulgaris Schrad.), field pumpkin 南瓜 (Cucurbita pepo L. ), vegetable sponge 絲瓜 (Luffa cylindrica (L.) Roem. ) which have been cultivated for thousands of years. Some kinds are often used locally as medicinal herbs, especially 王瓜 (Trichosanthes cucumeroides) and 括樓 (Trichosanthes kirilowii).