Lagenaria
Cucumber family
Cucurbitaceae
Laj-en-a'ri-a. A small genus of herbaceous vines, native in the tropics of the Old World and South America, related to the melons.
Description
Leaves broadly heart-shaped to ovate, with irregular margins. Flowers solitary, white, male flowers with long pedicle, female flower with ovary below petals.
How to Grow
Where summers are long, sow seeds outdoors. Elsewhere, start seeds indoors 6 weeks before last frost; they sprout in 7-10 days. Harden off and protect seedlings from wind and frost damage. Since vines ramble, plant them where they can be trained up into a tree, over an outbuilding, or over a large, sturdy arbor. Prefers warm weather.
Lagenaria siceraria
White-flowered Gourd
;
Calabash Gourd
. A musky-scented, quick-growing vine to 30 ft. (9 m) long, grown for its fruit. Sticky-hairy stem and branched tendrils. Leaves green, alternate, broadly oval or kidney-shaped, 6-10 in. (15-25 cm) wide. Flowers rather showy, usually withering by midday, 2-4 in. (5-10 cm) wide, petals 5. Fruit 3-36 in. (7.5-90.0 cm) long, very variable: round or flattish; crooknecked; bottle-, dipper-, dumbbell- or club-shaped. Needs heat and a long growing season to produce fruit. Also called
L. vulgaris
or
L. leucantha
. Tender annual.
