Siraitia grosvenorii

Siraitia grosvenorii
Siraitia grosvenorii (luo han guo) fruits
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Cucurbitales
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Genus: Siraitia
Species:
S. grosvenorii
Binomial name
Siraitia grosvenorii
(Swingle) C. Jeffrey ex A.M. Lu & Zhi Y. Zhang
Synonyms

Momordica grosvenorii Swingle
Thladiantha grosvenorii (Swingle) C.Jeffrey

Siraitia grosvenorii (monkfruit)
Traditional Chinese羅漢果
Simplified Chinese罗汉果
Literal meaning"arhat fruit"
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinluóhàn guǒ
IPA[lwǒxân kwò]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanizationlóh-hon gwó
Jyutpinglo4-hon3 gwo2
IPA[lɔ˩hɔn˧ kʷɔ˧˥]

Siraitia grosvenorii, also known as monkfruit, luo han guo (Chinese: 羅漢果; pinyin: luóhàn guǒ), or Swingle fruit, is a herbaceous perennial vine of the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae. It is native to southern China. The plant is cultivated for its fruit extract containing mogrosides. Mogroside extract has been used as a low-calorie sweetener for drinks and in traditional Chinese medicine. One mogroside, mogroside V, creates a sweetness sensation 250 times stronger than sucrose.

The scientific species name honors Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor, who, as president of the National Geographic Society, helped to fund an expedition in the 1930s to find the living plant in China where it was already being cultivated.