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Cucurbita pepo Linn.
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English Name |
Marrow, Squash, Pumpkin, Summer Squash, summer and Autumn Pumpkins, Vegetable Marrow |
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Latin name |
Cucurbita pepo Linn. |
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Family & Genus |
Cucurbitaceae, Cucurbita |
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Description |
Annual herbaceous vines, trailing. Single leaves alternate, ovate triangular or triangular, palmate parted, margin serrated, upper part dark green, lower part with lighter colour, leaves rough and hairy, veins bulging on the back; petioles long and hollow, stout, with short bristles. Tendrils slightly thick, pilose. Flowers unisexual, monoecious, solitary in the leaf axils, bright yellow or orange. Corolla of male flowers campanulate, yellow, lobes erect or extended, top acute; stamens 3, anthers combined, pollen grains large and heavy, sticky; base of calyx forming perianth tube, peduncles stout, with short bristles, and edges and corners. Female flowers solitary, ovary inferior, 1 chamber. Gourds, various shapes, sucn as cylindrical, elliptic, long cylindrical and so on, different varieties with different fruit shapes. Fruit stalks with prominent edges and grooves, fruit peduncles thickened, not forming trumpet-shape. Seeds numerous, white or pale yellow, long oval, seed coat smooth, margin arched. Flowering: May to July, fruiting: July to September. |
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Distribution |
Cultivated in all parts of China. The medicinal materials are mainly produced in all parts of China. |
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Part Used |
Medical part: fruits. Chinese name: Nangua. |
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Harvest & Processing |
Collected tender melon as food, generally seven to nine days after blossom fall. |
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Chemistry |
Contains mineral salts, protein and vitamin. |
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Pharmacology |
Produce of interferon stimulating, immunity-improving, anti-viral and anti-tumor. |
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Properties & Actions |
Neutral, sweet, tasteless.Clearing heat, inducing urination, relieving restlessness, alleviating thirst, dispersing swelling and dissipating stasis. Use with care in case of deficiency of spleen and stomach. |
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Indications & Usage |
Used for supportive treatment against dropsy, abdominal distention, dipsesis, sores and abdominal dropsy induced by nephritis and cirrhosis. |
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Examples |
Hypertension, dysphoria with thirst, hepatitis and jaundice, urinary lithiasis: fresh Marrow, pestle and collect juice, prepare and swallow with honey, half a cup to 1 cup each time, 2 times a day. |
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Permanent URL：https://sys01.lib.hkbu.edu.hk/cmed/mpid/detail.php?herb_id=D00585 |
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