Fabaceae / Papilionaceae

118
Cucurbitaceae
Cucumis prophetarum L.
English name: Wild Cucumber.
Local name: Sindhi- Kharchvit, Kharindroyan, Mitero.
Description:
A trailing prostrate climbing and creeping perennial herb with slender stem and long
tendrils. Leaves deeply dissected in three parts, margins wavy. Flowers minute
about1 cm in diameter. Fruit spiny, yellow when ripe.
Flowering Period:
June to July.
Habitat:
Common in stony, gravelly plains and dry slopes of foothills.
Uses:
The plant is emetic and purgative. A bitter resinous body
myriocarpin, which produces nausea and is slightly
purgative, is present in the fruit pulp.
Distribution:
Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Iran, Arabia and Tropical
Africa.