Musumusukkai (Cucumis maderaspatanus)

Musumusukkai is Madras pea pumpkin or rough bryony, a slender, hairy, wild climber of the cucumber family common on hedges in South India. Tamil homes cook its rough leaves into musumusukkai dosa, adai and thuvaiyal, especially in the cold season for coughs and colds. Its tiny round fruits ripen bright red. Older books call it Mukia maderaspatana; botanists have since moved it into Cucumis.

Botanical name: Cucumis maderaspatanus L.
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Tamil: Musumusukkai
Hindi: Bilari
Parts used: Leaf, Fruit in some kitchens
Habit: Rough-leaved wild climber with tiny red berries
Last updated: 2026-10-27

How to recognise Musumusukkai

It is a trailing or climbing annual with slender stems covered in rough, bristly hairs.

The leaves are rough to the touch, broadly heart-shaped and usually three- to five-lobed.

Small yellow flowers sit in the leaf axils, the male ones in clusters and the female ones singly.

The fruits are round berries about a centimetre across, green with pale stripes at first and turning red.

Kovai, Coccinia grandis, has smooth, ivy-shaped leaves, white flowers and larger striped fruit.

Traditional use of Musumusukkai

Kitchen

The leaves are ground into dosa and adai batter or made into thuvaiyal and rasam in Tamil homes.

Tamil food practice

Siddha

Siddha practice uses the leaf for coughs, colds and breathing complaints.

Siddha practice

Modern notes on Musumusukkai

DNA studies placed the old genus Mukia inside Cucumis, the cucumber and melon genus.

Leaf extracts have been tested in laboratory and animal studies, but there are no reliable human trials.

The leaves are rough because of stiff hairs, which soften on cooking.

Musumusukkai safety

Eat the leaves cooked, in normal food amounts. Do not eat the berries if they taste bitter, since wild cucurbits can contain cucurbitacins that cause vomiting.

Ecology and sourcing

It grows across tropical Africa, Asia and Australia on hedges, scrub and waste ground.

It sprouts with the rains and dies back in the dry season.

Birds eat the red berries.

Related plants

Also in Cucurbitaceae

Questions about Musumusukkai

Is Musumusukkai a cucumber?

It is a wild relative, now placed in the same genus.

How is Musumusukkai eaten?

The leaves are ground into dosa, adai or chutney.

Are the red berries edible?

Avoid them if bitter.

Is Musumusukkai the same as kovai?

No. Kovai is Coccinia grandis, with smooth leaves.

What was the older name of Cucumis maderaspatanus?

Mukia maderaspatana.

Sources

Educational page about a plant. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not an offer to sell. Traditional use is historical. If you need care, ask a licensed clinician. Questions: hello@meevamed.com.