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Balsam Apple
Momordica balsamina
Momordica balsamina is a tendril-bearing annual vine native to the tropical regions of Africa, introduced and invasive in Asia, Australia, and Central America. It has pale yellow, deeply veined flowers and round, somewhat warty, bright orange fruits, or "apples". When ripe, the fruits burst apart, revealing numerous seeds covered with a brilliant scarlet, extremely sticky coating. The balsam apple was introduced into Europe by 1568 and was used medicinally to treat wounds. In 1810, Thomas Jefferson...
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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In the old herbals & bestiaries
Notable Commentaries on the History of Plants
Leonhart Fuchs · 1542 · p.223
Book of Herbs
Hieronymus Bock (Tragus) · 1546 · p.711
Notable Commentaries on the History of Plants
Leonhart Fuchs · 1549 · p.221
On the Names of Plants
Hieronymus Bock (Tragus) · 1552 · p.971
A New Herbal, or History of Plants
Rembert Dodoens (trans. Henry Lyte) · 1578 · p.467
Jan Moninckx; Maria Moninckx — Moninckx Atlas, vol. 1 (1686)
Jan Moninckx; Maria Moninckx · 1687 · p.21
Herbarium Portatile, Oder Behendes Kräuter- und Gewächs-Buch: Darinn nicht allein 1363. so wol Einheimische als Außländndische Kräuter mit Lateinisch und Deutscher Benennung abgebildet, sondern auch die meisten, so in der Medicin gebräuchlich, kürtzlich erkläret werden
Panckow, Thomas · 1656 · p.240
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Momordica balsamina in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 165503.