Balsam Pear
Momordica charantia
The Balsam Pear is a tropical vine grown as a garden annual.
This unusual vine from the Old World tropics has been cultivated for its edible fruits since the early 1700s.1 Bernard McMahon listed this species among “tender annual flowers” in his book.2 It is generally lumped with the balsam apple, but the balsam pear has a "shorter vine and longer fruit."3
The Balsam Pear is a tropical vine grown as a garden annual. Growing 12 to 15 feet high, it presents bright yellow flowers followed by curious, oblong, yellow-orange warty fruits that burst open when ripe; attractive, glossy green foliage. Prefers full sun to light shade and well-drained garden loam.
In Bloom at Monticello is made possible by support from The Richard D. and Carolyn W. Jacques Foundation.
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Heirloom Seeds and Plants from the Monticello collection
Plant history in your gardens with seeds and plants from Monticello and the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants.
Footnotes
- Flowers and Herbs of Early America
- The American Gardener's Calendar
- Restoring American Gardens: An Encyclopedia of Heirloom Ornamental Plants, 1640-1940