• Family : CUCURBITACEAE
  (Gourd Or Melon Family)
• Family (Hindi name) : KHARBOOZA FAMILY (खरबूजा फैमिली)
• Family (as per The APG System III) : CUCURBITACEAE
• Synonym(s) : Trichosanthes bracteata (Lam.) Voigt
• Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Trichosanthes tricuspidata Lour.
• Vernacular name : Lal Indrayana, Indrayana, Mahakal (Hindi); Kagemari balli (Kannada); Pudal, Savari (Tamil); Avaduta (Telugu); Makal, Menhankalo (Oria); Vishala (Sanskrit); Kaundal (Marathi)
• Habit : Climber
• Habitat : Deciduous forests, also in the plains
• Comments / notes : Occasional in plains to 1000m, common near human habitations, by fallow fields or disturbed areas.
• Flower, Fruit : Throughout the year
• Distribution :
  • Andhra Pradesh : Vishakapatnam district, Nellore district, Srikakulam district, West Godavari district, Kurnool district
  • Karnataka : Bengaluru district, Chikkamagaluru district, Hassan district, Kodagu (Coorg) district, Mysuru district, Shivamogga district, Uttara Kannada district
  • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
  • Maharashtra : Akola district
  • Odisha : Mayurbhanj district
  • Tamil Nadu : Salem district
• World Distribution : India, Himalayas, China, Japan, Malesia, Tropical Australia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar
• Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
• Literature : Pullaiah et al., 2007 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 3; H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1995- Flora of Orissa Vol. 2; R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District; R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District; J.L.Ellis, 1987- Flora of Nallamalais Vol. 1; H. O. Saxena and M. Brahmam, 1989 - The Flora of Similipahar (Similipal), Orissa; Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983; Ramaswamy & Razi, 1973 - Flora of Bangalore district, Karnataka state; Rao & Razi, 1981 – A Synoptic Flora of Mysore District; Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI.
• Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Raja K Swamy, Deepak Kumar, Arun Singh R. and K. Gopalakrishna Bhat (2019). Flora of Peninsular India. http://peninsula.ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Trichosanthes tricuspidata. Downloaded on 3 April 2025.

Botanical Description

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