Lagenaria siceraria, a hardshell gourd, is probably native to Africa but has been domesticated since ancient times in several semi-tropical to tropical areas around the globe. Mature fruits appear in various shapes, including rounded, dumbbell-shaped, bottle-shaped, or crookneck-shaped. Vines that produce rounded fruits are called calabash gourds, and vines that produce more cylindrical fruits are often called bottle gourds. Vines may traverse the ground, on fences, solid trellises, or other upright supports. Each vine will typically grow to 10-16′ long, clad with large, hairy, broad-ovate, entire to shallowly-lobed, dark green leaves (to 12″ by 12″) with two-branched tendrils and night-blooming, trumpet-shaped, white summer flowers (pale yellow bases). The fruit (a pepo to 3′ long) has a smooth, light green skin when young but matures to yellow or light brown. When young, many gourds are edible (like zucchini), but some varieties are bitter and inedible. Inner white pulp dries when fruits mature, leaving a hard shell with little else inside except the seeds. The hard shells of mature fruits are waterproof, and they can be dried and used for a variety of different non-food purposes, including containers (water jugs, planters, cups, bowls), floats (fish nets), smoking pipes, musical instruments or ornamental decoration (native artifacts).
Bean-shaped (Reniform): Resembling the shape of a kidney or bean.
Square or Oblong: Angular shape with all sides more or less equal or longer than wide.
Triangular: Three-sided shape, broadest below the middle.
Elliptic: Rounded at both ends. shaped like an ellipse or oval.
Ovate or Obovate: egg-shaped, broader at one end.
Linear: Extremely long and narrow, with sides usually parallel.
Round: Appears circular, with length and width roughly the same.
Cardioid (Heart-Shaped): One edge has a prominent double curve into two lobes.
Cylindrical: A cylinder with parallel sides and a circular cross-section.
Discoid: Resembling a disc or plate with two relatively flat surfaces.
Fusiform: Spindle-shaped, tapering at both ends.
Globose: Spherical.
Lenticular: Resembling a lens with two convex surfaces.
Ovoid: Egg-shaped.
Plano-convex: Having a flat ventral (planar) surface and a curved dorsal (convex) surface.
Polygonal: Having more than three flat faces meeting at angles.
Sectoroid: Resembling a segment of an orange with two relatively flat faces and one curved face.
Subglobose/ellipsoid: Inflated shape but less than spherical.
Trigonous: Having three faces that meet at a distinct angle; triangular in cross-section.
Endangered species (E) are species that are so rare they’re in danger of becoming extinct.
Threatened species (T) are species that are likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of their range.
Species of Concern (SOC) are species about which there are some concerns regarding status and threats, but insufficient information is available to list the species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Plant Extinction Prevention (PEP) is a state status for rare plants that focuses its efforts on species that have fewer than 50 remaining wild individuals.
Orthodox seeds (desiccation-tolerant): can be dried to an internal seed moisture of less than 12% water and stored at freezing temperatures.
Intermediate seeds (temperature-sensitive) tend to age faster than orthodox seeds and may have only a 5-year lifespan when stored at -20°C. They are recommended for storage at 5°C.
Recalcitrant seeds (desiccation-sensitive): cannot be stored in a conventional freezer as they cannot survive after drying and/or freezing at -20°C. They are recommended for cryopreservation storage.