Not Just a Pretty Face

Now that the pumpkins have arrived in the market they are accompanied by their cousins those strange little gourds. A gourd is the dried shell of the fruit in the cucurbitaceae family. Genus Lagenaria. Same family as the pumpkin. ( Thanks to Wikipedia for that information ). The most common is the Legenaria Siceraria, calabash or African bottle gourd. For those of you that remember Jimmy Durante he always said."goodnight Mrs Calabash wherever you are " wonder if he knew he was referring to a gourd ?
Gourds are probably the first domesticated fruit used by man. They can be used as bowls,bottles,drums,birdhouses and pieces of art. I have seen them in the market ever since I was a small kid but never realized they were so useful. Didn't know they were hollow either. I understand they can be difficult to cut and are much like wood when dried but contain no grain.
I have always thought they were pretty cool looking though and some are down right ugly ! They come in a huge variety and are grown today mostly for their decorative appeal. A little ironic when you consider their first probable use was a container to hold life saving water. It is believed they were first grown domestically in Africa for that very purpose.

The next time you go to the market take a closer look at the Pumpkins cousin. A very useful little guy. Not just a pretty face.