Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🌱 A tropical plant 🌿 A plant group
Momordica

Momordica

9.5
A group of tropical climbing plants like bitter melon with fruits you can eat and use for medicine
  • proper noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Momordica
  • Gac (Momordica cochinchinensis Spreng) is a tropical fruit, indigenous to Southeast Asian countries and reported to be a rich source of phytochemicals, especially carotenoids.
  • Momordica charantia
  • Momordica charantia L.

Examples

  • The genus Momordica includes 45 species of climbing herbaceous plants native to South Asia.

    Academic text (2015)

  • In many Asian cuisines, Momordica is valued for its distinct bitter flavor and nutritional properties.

  • The plant Momordica is commonly used in traditional medicine for its health benefits.

  • Gardeners often grow Momordica species for their unique fruits and ornamental qualities.

Compounds

Momordica balsamina
  • Specialized
9.9

A tropical climbing vine with bright orange or red bumpy fruit called balsam apple

Momordica charantia
  • Specialized
9.9

A tropical vine that makes a bitter yellow-orange fruit called bitter melon

Surface Forms

Momordica main

Etymology

Momordica is named from the Latin momordicus, from mordeo 'to bite', a name given because the fruits and leaves can look 'bitten' or rough, and so the name refers to these tropical and subtropical vines including the bitter melon.