The fruit of Trionyx sinensis is a perennial herb vine with tendrils opposite to leaves and no branches. Leaf blade rounded to broadly ovate, usually parted, with dense papillae on the back; Light yellow flowers in summer, monoecious, with bracts on the stem; Long oval fruit with many soft thorns on the surface, which is red when ripe. Flat seeds have the shape of turtles (soft-shelled turtles) and are woody, so they are called wooden soft-shelled turtles. Wild and cultivated; Produced in China, Guangdong, Guangxi, Taiwan Province and other places, but also in Viet Nam and neighboring countries.
The edible part of Momordica cochinchinensis fruit is the red pulp in its shell and the red outer membrane outside the seed (Momordica cochinchinensis), which can be eaten directly. Other parts of the fruit of Momordica cochinchinensis, such as shell and Momordica cochinchinensis, can't be directly eaten even by Chinese medicine.