Luohan guo, commonly known as ‘monkfruit’, is the herbaceous fruit of an up to 5 meter long perennial vine with hearth-shaped leaves, that is known by the botanical Latin name Thladiantha grosvenorii.

These globular fruits are about 7 centimeters in diameter, with a smooth yet hard, khaki to green-brownish shell, covered with fine hairs and contain a sweet, edible pulp and numerous seeds.

The fruits are dried and used in traditional Chinese medicine for a variety of ailments, by infusing the constituents in boiling water to extract a medicinal drink.