| Momordica charantia | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Cucurbitales |
| Family: | Cucurbitaceae |
| Genus: | Momordica |
| Species: | M. charantia
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| Binomial name | |
| Momordica charantia | |
Momordica charantia (commonly called bitter melon, cerassee, goya, bitter apple, bitter gourd, bitter squash, balsam-pear, karavila and many more names listed below)[1] is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae, widely grown in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean for its edible fruit. Its many varieties differ substantially in the shape and bitterness of the fruit.
Bitter melon originated in Africa,[2] where it was a dry-season staple food of ǃKung hunter-gatherers.[3] Wild or semi-domesticated variants spread across Asia in prehistory, and it was likely fully domesticated in Southeast Asia.[2][4] It is widely used in the cuisines of East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
- ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
- ^ a b Renner, Suzanne (October 6, 2020). "Bitter gourd from Africa expanded to Southeast Asia and was domesticated there: A new insight from parallel studies". PNAS. 117 (40): 24630–24631. Bibcode:2020PNAS..11724630R. doi:10.1073/pnas.2014454117. PMC 7547224. PMID 32994347.
- ^ Bitter Melons. Watertown, Massachusetts: Peabody Museum, Documentary Educational Resources. 1966. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
- ^ Bagchi, Indrani (11 April 2005). "Food for thought: Green 'karela' for Red China". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 24 May 2013.