Botany
A coarse, branched, prickly or unarmed, erect, half-woody plant, growing to a height of 0.5 to 1 meter. Leaves are ovate to oblong-ovate, 10-25 cm long, hairy beneath, with shallowly lobed margins. Flowers are axillary, purplish, about 2.5 cm long. Fruit is fleshy, smooth, purple, up to 25 cm long, variable in shape, round, oblong, or cylindric-oblong.

Distribution
Cultivated throughout the Philippines for the edible fruit; the elongated variety, the most cultivated.

Chemical constituents and properties
Fruit contains trigonelline; choline; vitamins A. B, and C; fat, 01%; and protein, 2.2 %.

Parts used and preparation
Fruits, roots.

Uses:
Nutritional
Fruit is an excellent vegetable and popular in the rural day-to-day cuisine.
A good source of vitamins A, B, and C.
A good source of calcium, phosphorus, and iron.
Folkloric
Decoction of roots taken internally for asthma and as a general stimulant.
Leaves are used for piles.
The boiled root of the wild plant, mixed with sour milk and grain porridge has been used for the treatment of syphilis.
Decoction of roots, dried stalk, and leaves is used for washing sores, exudative surfaces.
The juice of leaves used for throat and stomach troubles.
The fruit, bruised with vinegar, is used as a poultice for abscesses and cracked nipples.

Availability
Cultivated for its edible fruit.