Ivy gourd: declared pest

Page last updated: Saturday, 28 September 2019 - 12:02pm

Please note: This content may be out of date and is currently under review.

Ivy gourd (Coccinia grandis) is a declared pest in Western Australia. Land owners/occupiers must adhere to legal requirements and follow control methods for this pest.

Form: vine — perennial

Status: present in WA

Ivy gourd is also known as scarlet fruited gourd, arakis, ekadala mughad roh, scarlet gourd, tindola, kundree, pepasan, pepino cimarron, little gourd, tendli vegetable.

Appearance

Climbing perennial herb with a tuberous root stock producing annual stems. It is a fast-growing climbing vine that quickly covers nearby plants.

Stems: Several metres long, rough feel because of the short stiff hairs.

Leaves: Broad, three to ten centimetres long, four to ten centimetres wide, three to seven lobed. Upper surface hairless, lower surface hairy and bearing three to eight glands near attachment of leaf stalk and major vein branching. Margin of the leaf notched. Leaf tip is blunt. Leaf petioles (stalks) one to three centimetres long. Tendrils are unbranched.

Flowers: Male and female flowers are on separate plants. Male flowers are solitary, rarely in axillary clusters of two to three. Flower stalks 15-50 millimetres long. Calyx lobes pointed, bending outwards two to five millimetres long. Corolla lobes white, oval 15-20 millimetres long. Female flowers solitary on stalks 10-30 centimetres long.

Fruit: Red, ovoid to elliptical, 25-60 millimetres long, 15-35 millimetres in diameter, hairless on stalks 10-40 millimetres long.

Seeds: Tan coloured, six to seven millimetres long and margins thickened.

Agricultural and economic impact

This environmental weed hosts pests and diseases that affect Cucurbitaceae crops.

Declared pest category

The Western Australian Organism List (WAOL) contains information on the area(s) in which this pest is declared and the control and keeping categories to which it has been assigned in Western Australia (WA). Search for ivy gourd in the WAOL. using the scientific name Coccinia grandis.

Requirements for land owners/occupiers and other persons

Requirements for land owners/occupiers and other persons if this pest is found can be sourced through the declared plant requirements link.

Search > detect > report

MyPestGuide™ Reporter
via app or online
(Select 'Send report to MyWeedWatcher' from menu)
mypestguide.agric.wa.gov.au

Pest and Disease Information Service (PaDIS)
+61 (0)8 9368 3080
padis@dpird.wa.gov.au

Control method

Report the presence of this organism before undertaking a control measure. Control methods for this declared plant can be found through the ivy gourd control link.

Contact information

Pest and Disease Information Service (PaDIS)
+61 (0)8 9368 3080
Technical support - MyPestGuide®