Common Name: Bittergourd
Description
Momordica charantia, known as bitter melon, bitter gourd, bitter squash, or balsam-pear in English, has many other local names. Goya from Okinawan and karela from Sanskrit are also used by English-language speakers and pavakai in Tamil.
It is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae, widely grown in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean for its edible fruit, which is extremely bitter. Its many varieties differ substantially in the shape and bitterness of the fruit. This fruit is known as “Pare” (paray) in Indonesia and is widely grown and fertile throughout the land of Indonesia. . . . .Read more
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Meet the crops
Amaranthus tricolor
Common Name: Vegetable amaranth
Description
Amaranthus tricolor is an ornamental plant known as tampala, tandaljo or tandalja bhaji in India,[3] callaloo in the Caribbean and Joseph’s coat after the Biblical figure Joseph, who is said to have worn a coat of many colors. Although it is native to South America, many varieties of amaranth can be found across the world in a myriad of different climates due to it being a C4 carbon fixation plant, which allows it to convert carbon dioxide into biomass at an extremely efficient rate when compared to other plants. Cultivars have striking yellow, red and green foliage. . . . .Read more
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Dioscorea rotundata
Common Name: Yams
Description
Yam is the common name for some plant species in the genus Dioscorea (family Dioscoreaceae) that form edible tubers.
These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Oceania. There are many cultivars of yam. Although some varieties of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) are also called yam in parts of the United States and Canada, sweet potato is not part of the family Dioscoreaceae but belongs in the unrelated morning glory family Convolvulaceae. . . . .Read more
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Annona reticulata
Common Name:Custard Apple
Description
Annona reticulata is a low, erect tree, with a rounded or spreading crown and trunk 25-35 cm thick. Height ranges from 5-10 m.
The ill-smelling leaves are deciduous, alternate, oblong or narrow-lanceolate, 10-20 cm long, 2-5 cm wide, with conspicuous veins.
Flowers, in drooping clusters, are fragrant, slender, with 3 outer fleshy, narrow petals 2-3 cm long; light-green externally and pale-yellow with a dark-red or purple spot on the inside at the base. The flowers never fully open.…Read more
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