Calabash
Family Bignoniaceae
Crescentia cujete, calabash (C. cujete 1), is a small tree, 5-8 m tall, with a short trunk and long spreading branches, native of tropical America and the West Indies. The alternate leaves are lanceolate; the flowers are tubular, up to 7 cm long, borne on old wood (cauliflorous) and whitish, yellowish or greenish in colour. The fruit is large, up to 25 cm in diameter, globular or oval (C. cujete 2), green in colour and with a hard dry wall when ripe.
Use
The durable woody shells of the fruits are used as containers and other domestic utensils, as musical instrument or as ornament (C. cujete 3). Calabashes should not be confused with the bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) (L. siceraria 1) which is obtained from the cucumber family (Family Cucurbitaceae).