Trichosanthes cucumerina is a tropical or subtropical vine, raised for its strikingly long fruit, used as a vegetable, medicine, and, a lesser known use, crafting didgeridoos. Other names include snake gourd ( Trichosanthes cucumerina var. anguina ), serpent gourd, chichinga, and padwal. It is known as Chichinga/Chichinge in Bengali, potlakaaya (పొట్లకాయ) in Telugu, pathola in Sinhala, pudalankaai (புடலங்காய்) in Tamil, dhunduli in Assamese, paduvalakaayi in Kannada and padavalanga (പടവലങ്ങ) in Malayalam.

The narrow, soft-skinned fruit can reach 150 cm long. Its soft, bland, somewhat mucilaginous flesh is similar to that of the luffa and the calabash. It is most popular in the cuisine of South Asia and Southeast Asia. The shoots, tendrils, and leaves are also eaten as greens.

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