Momordica charantia often called bitter melon, Bitter Gourd or bitter squash
in English, has many other local names. Goya from the indigenous language of
Okinawa and karavella from Sanskrit are also used by English-language speakers.
It is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae, widely
grown in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean for its edible fruit, which is
extremely bitter. Its many varieties differ substantially in the shape and
bitterness of the fruit. Bitter melon originated on the Indian subcontinent,
and was introduced into China in the 14th century.
This herbaceous, tendril-bearing vine grows to 5 m. It bears simple,
alternate leaves 4–12 cm across, with three to seven deeply separated lobes.
Each plant bears separate yellow male and female flowers. In the Northern
Hemisphere, flowering occurs during June to July and fruiting during September
to November.
