Family: Cucurbitaceae
Synonym: Anguina dioica (Roxb.) Kuntze
Bengali/Vernacular name: Potol.
Tribal name: Koithach (Khumi), Pee-tho-sthei (Rakhaing).
English name: Pointed guard.
Description of the Plant: An annual, climbing herb. Stem slender, branched; tendrils slender, short 2-4 fid. Leaves cordate, ovate-oblong, sinuate-dentate, rigid, sparsely scabrous, basal lobes narrowly rounded. Flowers dioecious; male not racemed, woolly outside. Fruit 5-9 cm, oblong or nearly spherical acute, smooth, orange red when ripe.
Plant parts Used: Leaf, fruit, root.
Traditional
Uses: The roots of the plant are used for the treatment fever, flu,
jaundice, and skin disease.
Decoction of leaves mixed with Piper
nigrum fruit powder is used to treat diarrhea.
The raw fruit juice is taken as a remedy for spermatorrhea.
Juice extracted from roasted fruit is applied to chicken pox scar.
Fruit skin juice mixed with honey is used to remove the bad odor of mouth.
Decoction made with the leaves of the plant is taken to treat acidity with
constipation.
Fruit is used in improving appetite, and digestion.
The plant is used as stomachic, antitumor, and antidiabetic agent.
Distribution: This species is cultivated throughout the country, profusely in Pabna, Sirajganj, and Comilla districts.
Is this plant misidentified? If yes, please tell us….
