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Gourd Family: GOURD, gord, is the name applied to the plants md hard-shelled fruits of various species of the Ducurbitaceae, called the gourd family. The >est-known are the bottle, or calabash, gourd Lagenaria siceraria) and the yellow-flowered irnamental gourd (Cucurbita pepo var. ovifera). There is definite evidence that the fruits of he Bottle gourd were used as utensils in the
•Jew World many centuries before the arrival of Columbus.
The gourds from Group 3 need a much longer growing season and might take up to six months to develop mature fruit. And add to these both Trichosanthes and Benincasa. In colder areas start them indoors six to eight weeks before the last frost, in individual 3-inch pots. Soak seed for 24 hours and keep soil temperatures at 70°F. In the fall make sure they get covered on nights when temperatures fall into the low 50s.
The crown of thorns or finger gourd, the striped pear, and the spoon gourds (Cucurbita Pepo var. ovifera) are all members of the same genus yet look different enough to be families apart. And there are more members: the white pear gourd, the goose-egg, the miniature gourd, the broad striped, the ladle or scoop gourd, the warty hardhead, the bell, and the big bell. The flowers of all are yellow, and the vines grow up to 12 feet long.
The finger gourd is small and white—an ovoid of 5-inch height and 4-inch diameter—more strange than anything else. This is not a beauty and the comments that it will elicit (and it will) are usually: "My goodness, what is this?*
The striped pear gourd sports white stripes on a dark speckled green, and is about the same size but decidedly nicer in aspect. This gourd is nice on the vine or in a decorative group on the mantle.
The spoon gourds are yellow, green, two-toned, and cute from every aspect. Usually when decorative gourds are thought of, this is the type that first springs to mind. |
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