What are gourds?
There are three main types of gourds: the cucurbita or ornamentals, the lagenaria or hardshell, and the luffa or vegetable sponge. • The cucurbita or ornamentals are the familiar colorful gourds of fall arrangements. The vines produce large orange-colored blossoms and bloom in the daytime. Some of the many kinds of ornamentals are crown of thorns, pear, orange, egg, spoon, and warties.Use this chart to help identify the types of ornamental gourds. • The lagenaria or hardshells are usually larger gourds, and the vines produce white blossoms which bloom at night. Lagenaria are green when growing on the vine, and have thick, hard shells when dry. Once dried, they’re used for many types of craft work. Some varieties of hardshells are dipper, bushel, bottle, birdhouse, and maranka. Use this chart to help identify the types of hardshell gourds.
Gourds belong to the plant family Cucurbitaceae, along with pumpkin, squash, cucumber and watermelon. They range in colour from almost pure white to yellow, tan, brown, orange, dark orange and light and dark green. Many fruits are striped or mottled. Most gourds are grown for practical or ornamental use, rather than for food. When ripe they are picked, washed, dipped in a fungicidal solution and placed on a rack to dry. The drying process takes from two to twelve months. The gourds are then made into items such as bowls, ladles, musical instruments, vases, drinking vessels and smoking pipes. They can be dyed, waxed, wood burned, carved and polished. Some gourds, including the bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) and the dishcloth gourd (Luffo cylindrica) can be eaten while the fruit is young. In India and Asia gourds are a very popular food and are specifically cultivated for consumption. Ali grows a type of snake gourd (Trichosanthes cucumerina var. anguina, also sold as T. angina) whic
