| Red gourd | |
|---|---|
| |
| Ripe fruit | |
| Conservation status | |
| Least Concern (NCA) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Cucurbitales |
| Family: | Cucurbitaceae |
| Genus: | Trichosanthes |
| Species: | T. pentaphylla |
| Binomial name | |
| Trichosanthes pentaphylla Benth. | |
Trichosanthes pentaphylla, commonly known as red gourd, is a species of plants in the family Cucurbitaceae found only in coastal northeast Queensland, Australia. It is a tendril climber up to 15 m (49 ft) long and 4 cm (1.6 in) stem diameter. The leaves are palmately divided with 3–5 leaflets, carried on a petiole up to 7 cm (2.8 in) long. The species is dioecious, meaning that male and female flowers are borne on separate plants; both are white with fringed petals and about 4 cm (1.6 in) diameter. The fruit is bright red, ovoid, and about 7 cm (2.8 in) long by 5 cm (2.0 in) wide. The plant was first described in 1867 by English botanist George Bentham.
Conservation
This species is listed as least concern under the Queensland Government's Nature Conservation Act. As of 9 January 2025, it has not been assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
References
- ^ "Species profile—Trichosanthes pentaphylla". Queensland Department of Environment and Science. Queensland Government. 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- "Trichosanthes pentaphylla". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- ^ "Trichosanthes pentaphylla F.Muell. ex Benth". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2025. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- F.A.Zich; B.P.M.Hyland; T.Whiffen; R.A.Kerrigan (2020). "Trichosanthes pentaphylla". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants Edition 8 (RFK8). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- Telford, I.R.H. (2022). "Trichosanthes pentaphylla". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- Bentham, George; Mueller, Ferdinand von (1866). Flora australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian territory. Vol. 3. p. 314.
External links
- View a map of herbarium collections of this species at the Australasian Virtual Herbarium
- View observations of this species on iNaturalist
- View images of this species on Flickriver.com