Bitter gourds (Momordica charantia) are native to tropical Asia, came to Okinawa, i.e., one of the southern islands in Japan, in the early 15th century, and can now be found across Japan. The gourds are monoecious, which means they produce yellow, male and female flowers from July to August but it's easy to tell because the male has the yellow center while the female has the green center. They usually produce male flowers first to ensure the safe fertilization of the female ones. So, the ratio of male to female in early summer is about 10:1.
Ripe orange gourds (scroll down) are edible including the red seeds and even jelly like stuff around the seeds.
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| 2026/8/10 A male flower |
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| 2020/8/8 Male and female flowers 雄花と雌花 |
