What Is The Scientific Name Of Winter Melon? (ANSWERS)
SCIENTIFIC NAME OF WINTER MELON – In this topic, we are going to know about the scientific name of winter melon or known locally as kundol.
Also known as wax gourd, ash gourd, white gourd, winter gourd, tallow gourd, ash pumpkin, Chinese preserving melon, Puhul, or locally, kundol, it is a vine that is grown for its fruit that is eaten as a vegetable when its mature.
The fruit itself is covered in a fuzzy coating of fine hairs when young, which it loses as it grows mature and develops its waxy coating, hence, the name.
It is native to South Asia and Southeast Asia and is grown widely throughout the entire Asian continent.
Its name is derived from the Chinese name dōngguā (冬瓜). The gua (瓜) in its name means “gourd” or “squash.”, however. So the name “melon” was given to the fruit due to its candied look and it is usually made into sweet tea.
Scientific Name
The binomial nomenclature of winter melon is Benincasa hispida.
The genus name Benincasa where, this is the only species, is a genus of Asian herbaceous vines with large yellow flowers and fleshy fruit that is used for pickles, according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary.
It is a New Latin term that is named after a 16th century Italian named Giuseppe Benincasa who made the botanical garden at Pisa.
The species name hispida, on the other hand, is the Greek feminine form of the term hispidus, which means rough, shaggy, hairy, bristly, prickly.
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