Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly Cucurbita and Lagenaria. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. Many gourds have large, bulbous bodies and long necks, such as Dipper Gourds, many variations of Bottle Gourd and caveman club gourds. One of the earliest domesticated types of plants, subspecies of the bottle gourd, Lagenaria siceraria, have been discovered in archaeological sites dating from as early as 13,000 BC. Gourds have had numerous uses throughout history, including as tools, musical instruments, objects of art, film, and food.
Gourd is occasionally used to describe crop plants in the family Cucurbitaceae, like pumpkins, cucumbers, squash, luffa, and melons.[1] More specifically, gourd refers to the fruits of plants in the two Cucurbitaceae genera Lagenaria and Cucurbita,[2][3] or also to their hollow, dried-out shell.
There are many different gourds worldwide. The main plants referred to as gourds include several species from the genus Cucurbita (mostly native to North America, including the Malabar gourd and turban squash), Crescentia cujete (the tree gourd or calabash tree, native to the American tropics) and Lagenaria siceraria (bottle gourd, thought to be originally from Africa but present worldwide).[4][5]:21 Other plants with gourd in their name include the luffa gourd (likely domesticated in Asia), which includes several species from the genus Luffa, as well as the wax gourd, snake gourd, teasel gourd, hedgehog gourd, buffalo gourd/coyote gourd. The bitter melon/balsam apple/balsam pear is also sometimes referred to as a gourd.[5]:18–19,21
History
L. siceraria or bottle gourd, are native to the Americas, being found in Peruvian archaeological sites dating from 13,000 to 11,000 BC and Thailand sites from 11,000 to 6,000 BC.[4] A study of bottle gourd DNA published in 2005 suggests that there are two distinct subspecies of bottle gourds, domesticated independently in Africa and Asia, the latter approximately 4,000 years earlier. The gourds found in the Americas appear to have come from the Asian subspecies very early in history, although a new study now indicates Africa.[6] The archaeological and DNA records show it is likely that the gourd was among the first domesticated species, in Asia between 12,000 and 13,000 years before present, and possibly the first domesticated plant species.[7]
Wild, poisonous gourds (Citrullus colocynthis) were unknowingly added to the company of prophets' stew according to a story of Elisha in the Hebrew Bible. Elisha added flour to the stew in order to purify it.[8] This interpretation of the verse is disputed by Rashi's interpretation,[9] who translates it as poisonous mushrooms, not poisonous gourds.[10]
Gourds continued to be used throughout history in almost every culture throughout the world. European contact in North America found extensive gourd use, including the use of bottle gourds as birdhouses to attract purple martins, which provided bug control for agriculture. Almost every culture had musical instruments made of gourds, including drums, stringed instruments common to Africa and wind instruments, including the nose flutes of the Pacific.[5]:23
Cultures from arid regions often associate gourds with water, and they appear in many creation myths. Since before human written history, they have had a multitude of uses including food storage, cooking tools, toys, musical instruments and decoration.[4] Today, gourds are commonly used for a wide variety of crafts, including jewelry, furniture, dishes, utensils and a wide variety of decorations using carving, burning and other techniques such as lamps and containers for storing objects.[12]
Just one example of a musical instrument is the West African Balafon, a xylophone that has gourds attached to the bottom of each note for resonance.[13]
Chinese snuff bottle (biyanhu) with body from a gourd grown inside a mould, and a jade stopper
A fixed-key balafon, showing gourd resonators with membrane holes
Folklore
Gourds have maintained a prominent role in the mythology of numerous cultures. In regard to Christianity, several artists such as Frans Floris and Carlo Crivelli have depicted the gourd as a symbol of the Resurrection of Christ, juxtaposed with the Fruit of Good and Evil that was consumed by Adam and Eve. In the Old Testament of the Christian bible, a gourd tree was used to shield Jonah from intense weather conditions while he was surveying Nineveh. [14] This terminology is contested by the New King James Version which calls which simply uses the term plant. In Catholicism, the calabash and rod that pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago adorn have become synonymous with the image of Raphael (archangel).
The gourd also makes frequent appearances in Chinese mythology. The Chinese god of longevity Shouxing is often depicted carrying a staff with a gourd attached to its end. Li Tieguai, one of the Eight Immortals is also often depicted with a bottle gourd that contains a special medicine that he uses to aid the sick, poor, or needy. These depictions denote the fruit's significance as a symbol of longevity and the power of medicine within Chinese culture. [15]
See also
A güiro is a Latin American percussion instrument made from a gourd.
Maracas are percussion instruments often made from gourds.
A sitar is a plucked stringed instrument, parts of which are made from gourds.
The Cucurbitaceae, also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family consisting of about 965 species in 101 genera. Those of most agricultural, commercial or nutritional value to humans include:
Cucurbita is a genus of herbaceous fruits in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae, native to the Andes and Mesoamerica. Five edible species are grown and consumed for their flesh and seeds. They are variously known as squash, pumpkin, or gourd, depending on species, variety, and local parlance. Other kinds of gourd, also called bottle-gourds, are native to Africa and belong to the genus Lagenaria, which is in the same family and subfamily as Cucurbita, but in a different tribe, their young fruits are eaten much like those of the Cucurbita species.
Cucurbita pepo is a cultivated plant of the genus Cucurbita. It yields varieties of winter squash and pumpkin, but the most widespread varieties belong to the subspecies Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo, called summer squash.
Calabash, also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, New Guinea butter bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed as a vegetable, or harvested mature to be dried and used as a utensil, container, or a musical instrument. When it is fresh, the fruit has a light green smooth skin and white flesh.
Lagenaria is a genus of gourd-bearing vines in the squash family (Cucurbitaceae). Lagenaria contains six species, all of which are indigenous to tropical Africa. The best-known species, the calabash or bottle gourd, L. siceraria, has been domesticated by humans, and has spread beyond Africa. The other species are not cultivated. The gourds of the various species may be harvested young and used as a vegetable. More commonly, the gourds are harvested mature, then dried, and used in making utensils. Gourds of L. siceraria have been used to store water and other liquids since ancient times. The generic name lagenaria comes from classical Latin lagena meaning bottle or flask, plus Latin suffix -aria.
Cucurbita ficifolia is a species of squash, grown for its edible seeds, fruit, and greens. It has common names including black seed squash, chilacayote, cidra, fig-leaf gourd, and Malabar gourd. Compared to other domesticated species in its genus, investigators have noted that samples of C. ficifolia from throughout its range are relatively similar to one other in morphology and genetic composition. Variations do occur in fruit and seed color, some isozymes, and photoperiod sensitivity.
Trichosanthes cucumerina is a tropical or subtropical vine. Its variety T. cucumerina var. anguina raised for its strikingly long fruit. In Asia, it is eaten immature as a vegetable much like the summer squash and in Africa, the reddish pulp of mature snake gourd is used as an economical substitute for tomato. Common names for the cultivated variety include snake gourd, serpent gourd, chichindapadwal and Snake Tomato.
Calabash, Lagenaria siceraria, is a vine grown for its fruit.
Crescentia cujete, commonly known as the calabash tree, is a species of flowering plant native to the Americas, that is grown in Africa, South-East Asia, Central America, South America, the West Indies and extreme southern Florida. It is the national tree of St. Lucia. It is a dicotyledonous plant with simple leaves, which are alternate or in fascicles (clusters) on short shoots. It is naturalized in India. The tree shares its common name with that of the vine calabash, or bottle gourd.
Cucurbita foetidissima is a tuberous xerophytic plant found in the central and southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It has numerous common names, but is most commonly called the buffalo gourd in English. The type specimen was collected from Mexico by Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland sometime before 1817. In Latin, foetidissima means most unpleasant smell.
Cucurbita palmata is a species of flowering plant in the squash family known by the common names coyote melon and coyote gourd. It is similar to Cucurbita californica, Cucurbita cordata, Cucurbita cylindrata, and Cucurbita digitata and all these species hybridize readily. It was first identified by Sereno Watson in 1876. These species form the only restricted xerophyte species group in the genus Cucurbita. Each member of this species group is native to the Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico where they are relatively uncommon. Each group member is found in hot, arid regions with low rainfall. They prefer soil that is loose, gravelly, and well-drained. C. palmata is native to northeastern Baja California, southeastern California, and southwestern Arizona to a point near the Colorado River. The juvenile leaves of C. cylindrata, C. cordata, C. digitata, and C. palmata show a high degree of similarity, but their mature leaves are visibly different, as are their root structures. C. palmata and C. digitata are sympatric, with C. palmata separating the ranges of C. digitata at the juncture of Baja California, California, and Arizona. C. palmata fruits are diffuse green mottle that turns yellow at maturity, striped, and round.
Cucurbitacins are a class of biochemical compounds that some plants – notably members of the pumpkin and gourd family, Cucurbitaceae – produce and which function as a defense against herbivores. Cucurbitacins and their derivatives have also been found in many other plant families, in some mushrooms and even in some marine mollusks.
Cucurbita argyrosperma, also called the cushaw squash and silver-seed gourd, is a species of winter squash originally from the south of Mexico. This annual herbaceous plant is cultivated in the Americas for its nutritional value: its flowers, shoots, and fruits are all harvested, but it is cultivated most of all for its seeds, which are used for sauces. It was formerly known as Cucurbita mixta.
Diaphania indica, the cucumber moth or cotton caterpillar, is a widespread but mainly Old World moth species. It belongs to the grass moth family, and therein to the large subfamily Spilomelinae. This moth occurs in many tropical and subtropical regions outside the Americas, though it is native to southern Asia; it is occasionally a significant pest of cucurbits and some other plants.
Cucurbita okeechobeensis, the Okeechobee gourd, is a species of gourd in the family Cucurbitaceae, native to Mexico and the United States. There are two subspecies; one is endemic to Florida, primarily in the region around Lake Okeechobee, the other to the State of Veracruz in eastern Mexico. Once abundant, it has state and federal listing as an endangered species. One of its peculiarities is the yellow corolla not so common in other Cucurbita species.
Guilá Naquitz Cave in Oaxaca, Mexico, is the site of early domestication of several food crops, including teosinte, squash from the genus Cucurbita, bottle gourds, and beans. This site is the location of the earliest known evidence for domestication of any crop on the continent, Cucurbita pepo, as well as the earliest known domestication of maize.
Cucurbita californica is a species of flowering plant in the squash family.
Aulacophora foveicollis, the red pumpkin beetle, is a species of beetle in the family Chrysomelidae. It is a foliar pest of members of the Cucurbitaceae, particularly the pumpkin. It is also a pest of millets in India.
Calabash is a traditional plant locally grown in many parts of Uganda. Its a non-food plant that produces several fruits of different sizes. The biological name of this plant is Lagenaria siceraria. Once harvested, its left to dry and is mainly used for traditional purpurses like dancing during traditional weddings, crafted as musical instruments by some tribes in their traditional dances for example the Bigwala, Baganda, Acholi, preserving milk, harvesting milk cream, and also used by traditional healers. Calabash is a symbolic cultural item that many Ugandan tribes use for different purposes.
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