MOMORDICA CHARANTIA L. 
Common name: bitter melon,balsam pear.
Family: Cucurbitaceae (Gourd family).
Also known as Chinese bitter melon; the fruit is edible when harvested green and cooked. The taste is bitter.
Bitter melon has twice the potassium of bananas and it has been proven to increase the number of beta cells (those, which produce insulin) in the pancreas.
Bitter melon is a monoecious climber with dark green, deeply lobed leaves. The dioecous flowers are yellow and the fruits are oblong and lumpy with a light green to greenish white, waxy skin.
Bitter melon seems to be supportive in HIV, several proteins have HIV inhibitory effects in vitro.
There is another smaller variety: Balsam apple which has seeds surrounded by a bright red pulp. The seeds are smaller and black.
The juice of this plant appears to be abortifacient.
In traditional Chinese medicine this vegetable is used as an appetite stimulant and as a treatment for gastrointestinal infection and against cancer (breast).
In Suriname's traditional medicine it is used against fever, stomachache, diabetes and hypertension.
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