Common Name: Bottle Gourd

General Information

Lagenaria siceraria is a vigorous, annual climbing plant, producing stems about 9 metres long. The stems scramble over the ground and into the surrounding vegetation, attaching themselves to the plants by means of tendrils that grow out of the leaf axils[, ].
Bottle gourd is one of the earliest of domesticated plants, with evidence of cultivation dating back perhaps as far as 13,000 BC in Peru. The plant is still widely cultivated, in both the tropics and the sub-tropics, for its edible fruit when and for the hard wooden shell of the mature fruit, which can be used for making containers, musical instruments etc[]. The products made from calabashes are commonly sold in local markets and as crafts, whilst the fruits and the oil from the seed are also sometimes traded locally. In addition, the plant has a range of traditional medicinal uses; it can be used as a fast-growing summer screen; and is sometimes used as a rootstock..

Known Hazards

The pulp surrounding the seed is toxic[].

Botanical References

Range

A widely cultivated plant, its original habitat is obscure, though it is probably Asia or Africa.

Habitat

Not known in the wild.

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Annual Climber
Height	9.00 m
Growth Rate	Fast
Pollinators	Moths, Insects
Cultivation Status	Cultivated

Cultivation Details

Lagenaria siceraria is a plant of the moist, lowland tropics and subtropics. It can be grown at elevations up to 1,600 metres, but economic crops are only produced below 500 metres[]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 19 - 27°c, but can tolerate 12 - 38°c[]. Plants are killed by frosts. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,200 - 1,800mm, but tolerates 700 - 2,800mm[].
Prefers a warm sunny position sheltered from the wind[]. Prefers a well-drained, moist, good rich circumneutral soil[, , , ]. Requires plenty of moisture in the growing season[]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 7, tolerating 4.5 - 7.5[].
Plants grow very rapidly and, in optimum conditions, the stems can produce 60cm of new growth in 24 hours[, ].
It can take 70 - 90 days from seed to produce harvestable immature fruits, and 100 - 120 days for mature fruits[]. The plants are frost-tender annuals, they grow very rapidly and even in temperate regions their stems can reach a length of 9 metres in the summer[]. A warm summer, however, is required for good production of the fruit[]. Temperate summers are often too cool or too short for this species and obtaining a crop from outdoor-grown plants can be somewhat problematical. The best chance is by starting the plants off early in a warm greenhouse, growing them on fast and then planting them out as soon as possible but making sure that they are not checked by cold weather. Hand pollination of the fruits can increase fruit set[].
Some cultivars have a relatively short growing period of 60 - 80 days[].
Individual plants can yield about 10 - 15 fruits[]. Good yields may be about 20 - 30 tonnes per hectare, and optimal yields may be up to 40 - 60 tonnes[].
Hand pollination of the fruits can increase fruit set[].
There are many named varieties with different shaped and sized fruits[, , , ]. The variety 'Cougourda' is said to be the best for eating[]. Forms with wooden shells tend not to have an edible flesh[].
The leaves have a strong musky scent that some people find repulsive[]. The plant is remarkably disease and pest-free, this might be connected to the smell of the leaves[].

Edible Uses

Immature fruit - cooked and used as a vegetable[, , ]. They can be boiled, steamed, fried, used in curries, added to stews or made into fritters[, ]. Cultivars differ markedly in sweetness or bitterness[]. The fruit is of variable quality, but some of the selected cultivars from India and China are of very good quality, equivalent to good summer squashes[]. The pulp around the seed is purgative and should not be eaten[]. The fruit can be dried for later use[].
n Japan, long strips of fruit skin are commonly boiled, soaked in soya sauce with a little sugar, and used as an ingredient of 'sushi'[].

Leaves and young shoots - cooked and used as a potherb[, , ]. The shoots are sometimes boiled with milk or coconut milk to reduce the unpleasant, peculiar flavour[].

Seed - cooked. Some types are bitter-tasting, but the seeds of less bitter types are roasted and consumed as a snack or pounded and mixed with maize or millet flour[]. Rich in oil, the seed is added to soups etc[]. A vegetable curd, similar to tofu, can be made from the seed[]. The seed is a popular local snack[].

An edible oil is obtained from the seed[]. It is used for cooking[, , ]. Yields of up to 45% have been obtained[].

Medicinal

The leaves are mixed in water with the bark of Caryocar microcarpum and the leaves of Elephantopus scaber and used as a foot-bath remedy for fungal infections and microfilaria worms[]. The crushed leaves are used as a poultice on haemorrhoidal swellings[]. A poultice of the crushed leaves has been applied to the head to treat headaches[].

The flowers are an antidote to poison[].

The stem bark and the rind of the fruit are diuretic[].

The fruit is antilithic, diuretic, emetic, purgative and refrigerant[, ]. The juice of the fruit is used in the treatment of typhus, stomach acidity, indigestion and ulcers[, ].
The fruit rind is used in a decoction with molasses to treat problems of the uterus or womb[].

The seed is diuretic and vermifuge[]. A poultice of the boiled seeds has been used in the treatment of boils[]. Taken with Achyranthes spp the seed is used to treat aching teeth and gums, boils etc[].

The pulp around the seed is emetic and purgative[, , ].

Extracts of the plant have shown antibiotic activity[]. In many parts of China 3 grams per day of this species (the report does not say what part of the plant) has been used as a single treatment for diabetes mellitus[].
The plant contains bitter cucurbitacine triterpenoids[].
The flowers contain the flavonol rutoside in the stigma and kaempferol in the pollen[].

Agroforestry Uses:

Some bottle gourd cultivars are used as a rootstock for grafting musk melon, watermelon and cucumber in order to control soil-borne diseases[].

Other Uses

The shells of well-ripened fruits, often called calabashes, are water-tight, very hard and durable. The fruits also come in a variety of shapes and sizes. This has made them extremely popular with native people all round the world who use the calabashes to store and transport all manner of items, including foods, seeds and grains, drinks and other liquids etc. The calabashes are also used to make various different musical instruments, beehives, barrels for brewing, buckets for drawing water, plates, bowls, cups, ladles etc - the list could go on and on and is only limited by the imagination[, , , , , , ]. The calabashes are also used as children's toys[], and for decorative purposes, when they are often intricately ornamented before being sold[].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse in a rich soil, putting 2 - 3 seeds in a pot and thinning to the strongest plant. Grow on fast and plant out as soon as possible after the last expected frosts, giving some protection until the plants are established and growing well. The seed germinates best at 25°c[]. Soaking the seeds for 12 hours in warm water prior to sowing can hasten germination[]. Discard any seeds that have not germinated after 10 days, the plants they produce will not be vigorous enough to succeed outdoors in most temperate regions[].