Some people do not like the way the seeds taste and they recommend scooping them out before preparing the melon, although in young green melons they are easier to eat. Again, it's believed to be native to Africa and southeast Asia but has spread to tropical and subtropical places around the globe. In the tropics, the gourd can be planted year-round as long as crops are properly irrigated during drier months. Currently, supplies are still good while the warm weather remains, but it won't be long until commercial production… Short day conditions will help in improving female flower production. The wild bitter melon that we get in Florida from the vines on fences is less bitter than the cultivated bitter melon, which is also larger and longer than the smaller wild melons. Change ), Wild Medicinal Plants of the Greater Green Swamp in Kathleen, FL, Tropical soda apple – Solanum Viarum Dunal Family:Solanaceae, Wild Bitter Melon -Momordica charantia family:Cucurbitaceae. Florida is about to start its bitter melon season. It's that kind of plant. There are several organizations, like the Bitter Gourd Council and the National Bitter Melon Council that are actively advocating the use of the Bitter Melon for food and medicinal purposes, even including a corny dancing bitter melon video on their web pages. When it starts to ripen it becomes yellow and then orange, and is toxic during those phases. Momordica charantia is known locally in Florida as Balsam Pear. While typically cultivated in the field, it can also be grown in a greenhouse. The fruit is a type of melon and is ovate-elliptical to elongate-fusiform with a surface covered with ridges, wrinkles or spines. Other common names: balsam apple, balsam pear, wild cucumber, bitter apple, bitter gourd and bitter cucumber. As its name suggests, bitter melon is a fruit that is part of the watermelon, cucumber, and squash family, and, is also extremely bitter. This vine is in the cucumber family and originates from the Old World tropics in Africa. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Bitter Melon is native to Africa and the Middle East both of which claim that it originated in their areas. Taylor (2005) says that a “chemical analog of … bitter melon proteins has been developed, patented, and named MAP-30” (pp. This product may interfere with some lab tests. The Florida season for bitter melon is slowly winding down as Fall arrives. She says that all parts of bitter melon have clinically demonstrated blood sugar lowering (hypoglycemic) properties, especially  in the green fruit, and around 100 in vivo studies on humans have demonstrated this. It’s mature fruit is toxic is yellow and then orange and contrary to other plants, the only time you can eat it is when it is green,the yellow to orange fruit is inedible. I have not been unable to locate bitter melon uses going back through the early Greek and Roman periods. It's a native of Africa and southeast Asia, presumably — its origins are unknown — grown in places as a vegetable and widely used for its medicinal properties. Not to be confused with its small, weedy, toxic-seeded cousin, the Balsam pear, the larger cultivated bitter melon is an exotic-looking, yet easy-to-grow plant. There are cultivated varieties of bitter melon with fruit that resembles a deeply wrinkled cucumber and without the gym shoe aroma. I frequently find flowers, and fruit in different stages of maturity in the same place, but only the green fruit, which is usually hardest to find, is edible. The exception is the outer coating of the seeds, though the seeds themselves are poisonous. The wild bitter melon that we get in Florida from the vines on fences is less bitter than the cultivated bitter melon, which is also larger and longer than the smaller wild melons. Always check with your doctor before you use a natural product. Ethnomedical uses for this plant have been identified in Brazil, Caribbean Islands, China, Cuba, Haiti, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Philippines, Peru and Trinidad. The vines and leaves of the wild bitter melon can also be used as cooked greens or teas. United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) distribution maps for balsam apple/ bitter melon. Its range extends through central and south Florida, and hops across the panhandle into Leon and Escambia counties. I also know Indians who soak the cut bitter melon in water before cooking it, and then drink the water, although that is a matter of taste. The Florida Exotic Plant Pest Council lists bitter melon as a Class II invasive, meaning it's spreading in the wild but has yet to displace native plants. The fruit turns orange when mature and splits open from top down to reveal bright red (toxic) seeds. Some people use it as a medicine but science does not support its use for health problems. It also has an odor that Eat the Weeds likens to an old gym shoe. It is frequently used in Indian cooking as a bitter vegetable to balance rich curries, and Indian stores sell frozen cut cultivated bitter melon. Some scientific studies have found that bitter melon's component chemicals might have potential against some cancers, but nothing definitive. ( Log Out /  Growing bitter gourd (bitter melon) in pots is easy. If the "whatever" happens to be a crop of some sort, it can also make harvesting difficult. Growing of the exotic vegetable, which typically grows well in warm regions, is confined to the Homestead area in South Florida. Label data from vouchered specimens describe it as covering shrubs, and comingling with rare air plants in tall trees. A herbaceous annual that is a climber and has a twining growth form and climbs with the aid of tendrils. Growing of the exotic vegetable, which typically grows well in warm regions, is confined to the Homestead area in South Florida. Bitter melon, Momordica charantia, could cure you or kill you. Against diabetes, it works in the same way as insulin but correct dosages to treat diabetics have not been determined. The fruit and the leaves are what are traditionally used for food and medicine. The fruit eventually opens up revealing dark red seeds that hang like teeth in a hockey player's mouth. Bitter melon is found in most Peninsula counties from Putnam south to Monroe and in every South Florida county. Bitter melon is a warm weather crop that thrives in daytime temperatures between 75 and 80°F. The Florida Exotic Plant Pest Council lists bitter melon as a Class II invasive, meaning it's spreading in the wild but has yet to displace native plants. Note:- All the fruit is toxic except for the green fruit. There are current studies using the plant to see if it inhibits the growth of leukemia and cancer cells, and a protein in the plant has clinically demonstrated anticancer activity against Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and have the HIV virus in test tube studies. What are the precautions when taking this product? While typically cultivated in the field, it can also be grown in a greenhouse. The flowers are solitary and yellow with five petals. Like cukes and other related plants, bitter melon has both male and female flowers on the same plant, with only the females producing fruit. This plant is relatively recent in Florida and started growing profusely around Central Florida in the last couple of years. At the same time, bitter melon is full of powerful chemicals that have the potential to combat some deadly diseases, including sundry leukemias and other cancers, AIDS and diabetes. 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