Snake Gourd: Chinese Python
(Trichosanthes cucumerina (syn. T. anguina))
Snake gourd is a vining, annual vegetable crop that produces a wavy cucumber-like fruit that is harvested when young and green (30-75cm long) and cooked like a squash. This crop is well suited to growth in the humid lowland tropics. The delicate vines need a trellis. The mature fruit turns orange or red when ripe and the inside of the fruit can be scraped out and used like tomato paste in cooking. The fruits do not store well after harvest.
A very long variety of snake gourd with fruit that reaches up to 150cm (60 inches) in length and 4cm (1.5 inches) in diameter.