Wang Gua Gen

Trichosanthes cucumeroides, the Japanese snake gourd, is a herbaceous perennial climbing vine of the Cucurbitaceae family native to East Asia, including central and southern China, Korea, and Japan. The plant produces slender angled stems that ascend by branched tendrils, with broadly cordate to three- or five-lobed leaves arranged alternately and bearing a roughened surface. Solitary white flowers open at dusk and display the characteristic finely fringed lace-like petal margins typical of the genus, attracting nocturnal pollinators. The fruit is an ovoid berry, green and white striped when young, ripening to bright orange or red, hanging conspicuously from the climbing stems. Beneath ground the plant develops elongated, tuberous, starchy roots which constitute the medicinal portion harvested in autumn and dried for use.