Momordica balsamina
speciesAt a glance
Sources13 archives
Databases and archives Momordica balsamina's data was compiled from.
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility1 256 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI14 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics15 specimens↗
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
NPASSNat. Product Activity & Species Sourcecompounds↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype
Tree of SexTree of Sex Consortiumgenome & karyotype↗
Paleobiology DatabasePBDB consortiumfossil record↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
Momordica balsamina, le concombre balsamite ou courgette africaine, est une espèce de plantes à fleurs dicotylédones de la famille des Cucurbitaceae, originaire de l'Afrique tropicale et introduite dans les autres continents. Elle est devenue une espèce envahissante dans certaines régions. C'est une plante herbacée annuelle, monoïque, à port rampant ou grimpant. Les fruits sont des baies ovoïdes de 3 à 5 cm de long, de couleur orange vif ou rouge à maturité, contenant de nombreuses graines. Momordica balsamina est utilisée en médecine traditionnelle depuis très longtemps. Les fruits, les graines et les feuilles sont anthelminthiques. Les feuilles sont utilisées comme traitement contre la fièvre et les saignements utérins excessifs et pour traiter la syphilis, les rhumatismes, l'hépatite et les troubles cutanés. La plante est émétique, purgative et vermifuge.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Size & morphology14
Life cycle & reproduction6
Diet & foraging1
Habitat & environment13
Physiology & chemistry1
Compounds documented for Momordica balsamina across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile2 classes
Documented compounds28 total
| Compound | Class | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| (1R,4S,5S,8R,9R,12S,13S,16S)-8-[(2R,4R)-4-hydroxy-6-methylhept-5-en-2-yl]-5,9,17,17-tetramethyl-18-oxapentacyclo[10.5.2.01,13.04,12.05,9]nonadec-2-en-16-ol | present | LOTUS | |
| (1S,4S,5S,8R,9R,12S,13S,16S)-8-[(2R,4R)-4-hydroxy-6-methylhept-5-en-2-yl]-5,9,17,17-tetramethyl-18-oxapentacyclo[10.5.2.01,13.04,12.05,9]nonadec-2-en-16-ol | present | LOTUS | |
| (2R,3R,4R,5S,6R)-2-[[(3S,4S,7S,8R,9S,10S,13R,14S,17R)-3-hydroxy-4-(hydroxymethyl)-17-[(E,2R)-6-methoxy-6-methylhept-4-en-2-yl]-4,9,13,14-tetramethyl-2,3,7,8,10,11,12,15,16,17-decahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-7-yl]oxy]-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxane-3,4,5-triol | present | LOTUS | |
| (3S,4S,7R,8R,9S,10S,13R,14S,17R)-17-[(2R,4R,5R)-4,5-dihydroxy-6-methylhept-6-en-2-yl]-4-(hydroxymethyl)-4,9,13,14-tetramethyl-2,3,7,8,10,11,12,15,16,17-decahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthrene-3,7-diol | present | LOTUS | |
| (3S,4S,7R,8R,9S,10S,13R,14S,17R)-4-(hydroxymethyl)-17-[(2R,4R)-4-hydroxy-6-methylhept-5-en-2-yl]-4,9,13,14-tetramethyl-2,3,7,8,10,11,12,15,16,17-decahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthrene-3,7-diol | present | LOTUS | |
| (3S,4S,7R,8R,9S,10S,13R,14S,17R)-4-(hydroxymethyl)-17-[(2R,4R)-4-hydroxy-6-methylhept-5-en-2-yl]-7-methoxy-4,9,13,14-tetramethyl-2,3,7,8,10,11,12,15,16,17-decahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-ol | present | LOTUS | |
| (3S,7S,8R,9S,10S,13R,14S,17R)-17-[(E,2R)-6-hydroxy-6-methylhept-4-en-2-yl]-4,4,9,13,14-pentamethyl-2,3,7,8,10,11,12,15,16,17-decahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthrene-3,7-diol | present | LOTUS | |
| 17-(6-hydroxy-6-methylhept-4-en-2-yl)-4,4,9,13,14-pentamethyl-2,3,7,8,10,11,12,15,16,17-decahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthrene-3,7,12-triol | present | LOTUS | |
| 17-(6-hydroxy-6-methylhept-4-en-2-yl)-4,4,9,13,14-pentamethyl-2,3,7,8,10,11,12,15,16,17-decahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthrene-3,7-diol | present | LOTUS | |
| 17-(6-hydroxy-6-methylhept-4-en-2-yl)-7-methoxy-4,4,9,13,14-pentamethyl-2,3,7,8,10,11,12,15,16,17-decahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthrene-3,12-diol | present | LOTUS |
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Momordica balsamina has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Momordica balsamina carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
2n 2212×GoaT · Tree of Sex Database · CCDB · ipcn-api-dl · CCDB · book-ipcn72 +4
n 113×CCDB · ipcn-api-dl · CCDB · book-ipcn72 · TreeOfSex · plant
diploid inferred1×PloiDB · genus-scale
Record type1 256 records
Origin
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions32 of 52 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| Pretoria, ZA | 244 |
| Museo Entomologico de Leonlocation not on record | 25 |
| Durban, ZA | 24 |
| Brisbane, AU | 20 |
| Kew, GB | 20 |
| Palmerston, AU | 17 |
| Adelaide, AU | 15 |
| Mount Annan, AU | 12 |
| Kensington, AU | 7 |
| MeiseBGlocation not on record | 7 |
| Canberra, AU | 7 |
| Frankfurt am Main | 6 |
| Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique / Institut de l'environnement et de recherches agricoleslocation not on record | 5 |
| Bronx, US | 5 |
| Cape Town, ZA | 5 |
| Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznańlocation not on record | 4 |
| Uniwersytet Śląski w Katowicachlocation not on record | 4 |
| Fredericksburg, US | 4 |
| HNBlocation not on record | 4 |
| Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropicallocation not on record | 4 |
| Saint Louis, US | 4 |
| Gujarat Biodiversity Gene Banklocation not on record | 3 |
| MAlocation not on record | 3 |
| Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record | 3 |
| Rishon Le Zion, IL | 3 |
| LDlocation not on record | 3 |
| University of Stellenboschlocation not on record | 3 |
| Paris, FR | 2 |
| Armidale, AU | 2 |
| James Cook Townsvillelocation not on record | 2 |
| Durango, MX | 2 |
| Tampa, US | 2 |
| Salvador, BR | 2 |
| Centre National des Semences Forestièreslocation not on record | 2 |
| Chongqing Museumlocation not on record | 1 |
| La Paz, MX | 1 |
| North-West University, A.P. Goossens Herbariumlocation not on record | 1 |
| Miami, US | 1 |
| Yaoundé, CM | 1 |
| Wellington, NZ | 1 |
| Claremont, US | 1 |
| MSB-3054location not on record | 1 |
| South Kensington, GB | 1 |
| Universidad del Quindío (UniQuindío)location not on record | 1 |
| Monastir, TN | 1 |
| Podgorica, ME | 1 |
| San Diego, US | 1 |
| Uppsala, SE | 1 |
| Staatliches Museum fuer Naturkunde Karlsruhe (State Museum of Natural History)location not on record | 1 |
| Hobart, AU | 1 |
| New Haven, US | 1 |
| Severin-McDaniel Insect Collectionlocation not on record | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Momordica balsamina was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.