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T he Calabash Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) can be a tree or fence creeper, or it can grow along the ground like most other members of the pumpkin family. It is an annual with large, rounded, hairy, kidney-shaped leaves on stalks up to 12 cm long with a pair of tendrils at the base of the leaf stalk. Each plant produces both male and female flowers at the base of the leaf stalks. The large white flowers open at night. Female flowers are short- stalked with a small gourd fruit at the base which withers and drops off if the flower is not fertilized. Male flowers have long stalks (10 cm or longer). There are many forms, shapes and varieties of Calabash Gourds, each producing a different-shaped and sized fruit, from small and round to large with an elongate, narrow neck. The flattened seeds have two flat ribs on either side. Unlike the five other species in the genus it is an annual, dying at the end of each growing season. Where do we find Calabash Gourds? Calabash Gourd plants are found and cultivated in every African country, but they are not often encountered in the wild in southern Africa except where it has escaped from cultivation. In southern Africa, the Calabash Gourd has been collected in Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland and the Limpopo, North-West and Gauteng provinces of South Africa. The Calabash Gourd by Phakamani Xaba, SANBI, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden and Peter Croeser gardening with indigenous traditionally-useful plants This is the sixteenth in a series of articles on indigenous plants that have traditionally been used by humans in southern Africa for food, medicine, crafts and charms. Some of these plants are now threatened while others that once formed an important part of our diet have been forgotten. It is hoped that these articles will help revive an interest in growing, using and conserving a valuable indigenous resource. Please note that cited traditional information about medicinal use of plants does not constitute a recommendation for their use for self-treatment. Improper or uninformed use of wild plants can be extremely dangerous. READING Van Wyk, B.-E. 2005. Food plants of the world. Briza, Pretoria. Van Wyk, B.-E. & Gericke, N. 2000. People’s plants: a guide to useful plants of southern Africa. Briza, Pretoria. ACTIVITY ENVIRONMENT REQUIRED FOR SUCCESS TREATMENT TIME REMARKS Seed harvesting and preparation The fruits take two to three months to mature once they begin developing. They can usually be harvested at the end of the summer growing season when the plant loses most of its leaves during the period from March to May. Store the gourds in the sun to dry. Only when you hear the seeds rattle when shaken can you cut the end and use a wire loop to remove the seeds and dried tissue from inside the gourd. Remove dry fluff (chuff ) and store the seeds in dated brown paper bags in a cool, dry, insect free area. Otherwise leave the seeds inside the uncut calabash in a cool dry area where they will remain safe from pests until the planting season. Cleaned seed should be sun-dried for a short while before storing under cool, dry air conditions. Viability is lost if left in the open for longer than a month. There are approximately 400 seeds/kg. Seed sowing, germination and growing out Sow directly in the ground where they are going to grow. Soak seed in water overnight, so that they absorb water which softens the seed coat. Sow at the start of the summer rainfall season in September to early December. They germinate quickly, emerging 4–5 days after sowing. Cultivation They are quick-growing annuals. They can be grown on the ground but are usually trained along a fence facing the path of the sun. They like plenty of sunlight and do not grow well in shady areas. Calabash Gourd requires little attention if growing under normal rainy season conditions. Watering every three to four weeks will be necessary during a dry summer. Rapid elongation of the growing stems and the appearance of tendrils takes place within 2–3 weeks of sowing. Growth slows down when the flowers begin appearing. The more numerous male flowers appear 2-3 months after planting, the female flowers a few weeks later. Pollination is mainly by bees and butterflies during the day and adult hawk moths in the evenings. Pests in cultivation If grown at the wrong season the plants are very susceptible to a variety of diseases including powdery mildew of the leaves. Powdery mildew can be prevalent under humid conditions during summer and can quickly spread to all seedlings in a nursery net house. Control is achieved by spraying with copper oxychloride. The gourds protect the seeds from most pests. Gourds on the ground should be protected from damp by placing a pad of dry grass under the gourd. Damp will discolour the gourd with black blotches. CALABASH GOURDS An easy guide to growing WHAT’S IN A NAME? Botanical name: Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl. The genus name Lagenaria comes from lagena, the Latin name for a narrow-necked flask from the Italian city of Florence. The specific name, siceraria, is from the word siccus meaning dry. Both generic and specific names refer to the fruit which is dried before use. Family name: The Calabash Gourd belongs in the melon, gourd and squash (including pumpkin) family Cucurbitaceae and is African in origin. Common names: Calabash Gourd, bottle gourd (English); kalbas (Afrikaans); moraka (North Sotho); segwana (Tswana); iselwa [plant], izinkezo [a smaller gourd used as a ladle], igula [a larger gourd used as a container for making sour milk] (Zulu); mbuyu, mmumunye, (Swahili). Ecology and pests In the wild in southern Africa it grows on a variety of soils, from sand to clay, in different habitats from flat areas, dry river beds, stony hillsides, and thickets, to open woodland and grassland. Traditional and future uses The dried hard outer casing of the fruit of the Calabash Gourd is widely used throughout Africa for serving, drinking and storing liquids, storing dried foods and even for fashioning pipes and musical instruments. In many parts of Africa the green fruit is sliced and cooked as a vegetable, although forms with bitter- tasting fruit are avoided for this purpose. The young growing shoots are also harvested and cooked as a spinach (umfino). The main part used of the Calabash Gourd is the hard, woody dried rind of the fruit. Smaller, longer dried fruits are used traditionally by Zulu-speaking people as ladles (izinkezo), part of the bulbous end of the fruit being sliced off for the purpose. Larger gourds are used for liquid containers, especially for processing sour milk. Known as igula, these containers typically have the narrow neck end cut off and have a small hole drilled into the bottom which is fitted with a wooden plug. This is for draining the thin watery whey from the clotted souring milk curds. Green fruit are sliced and fried, steamed or boiled as a vegetable in much the same way we cook baby marrow. The young shoots and leaves are cooked as used as spinach. The leaves can also be dried and stored for later use. Commercial aspects Calabash Gourds are grown on a restricted scale for the commercial curio market. The main curio items for which they are used are for resonating boxes for hand xylophones (thumb pianos) and bottle and ladle gourds which are decorated with beads. ABOVE: The dried hard outer casing of the fruit of the Calabash Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) is widely used for serving, drinking and storing liquids. This one is from Mt Omavanda, Namibia. BELOW: Calabash Gourds . Photos: P. Xaba. LEFT: The Calabash Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) belongs to the melon, gourd and squash (including pumpkin) family, Cucurbitaceae, and is African in origin although not often encountered in the wild. BELOW: Calabash Gourds (Lagenaria siceraria) growing at Mt Omovanda in Namibia. Photos: P. Xaba. VELD&FLORA | SEPTEMBER 2011 130 SEPTEMBER 2011 | VELD&FLORA 131
