Futo Spindle Bitter Melon

Heirloom bitter melon with long climbing vines, small yellow flowers, and 7-8" bumpy fruits. While bitter melon is most often associated with subtropical and tropical Asian foodways, they are also well-loved in parts of Africa (where this species originates) and the Caribbean. While this type is often attributed to Japan, it was first introduced from China to now occupied Okinawa where it is more widely eaten and where it is known as Goya and Nigauri. These seeds were grown for our catalog by two awesome community farms in Brooklyn who grow these delicious and healthy vegetables for their Caribbean neighbors. Notes from Jeremy Teperman of East New York Farms!: I would also add that customers use both the fruits as well as the leaves, which are made into a tea. Jamaicans call the vines/leaves "cerasee" or "cerasee bush", although technically that is a different variety of bitter melon grown specifically for the leaves, and produces smaller fruits. Both the leaves and fruits are thought