Carolina Gourds &Seeds

Types of Gourds

Gourds get their names from their traditional uses or their shapes. Hardshells all cross-pollinate with all other hardshells, so their shapes are infinitely variable. The names listed here are what most growers use. But different growers sometimes use the same name for different shapes, and a Lumbee Indian grower in southeastern North Carolina may use a name different from a New Englander. Ornamentals, too, cross pollinate, not just with other ornamental gourds, but with some squashes grown for the table and with some pumpkins. Because of this, most growers get seed from professional seedsmen. So with ornamentals, the names listed are those used by professional growers. The sizes described are approximate because so much depends on the growing season--good, bad and where.

Hardshell Gourds

Hardshell gourds are Lagenaria siceraria. Their white flowers open as the day cools to evening and close the next morning. As the common name, hardshell, suggests, their woody shells are hard--ranging up to more than an inch thick when the growing season is long enough. On the vine, the developing hardshell is green, sometimes mottled with light and dark stripes. Dried, they are brown or tan. Hardshells will last thousands of years--they have been found in the pyramids in Egypt and in caves high in the Andes. Many get their names from their traditional uses or their shapes.

• Apple.
  • Larger than a softball and shaped exactly like a apple. 5-9" tall, 15-20" cir. Good for an "apple" for the teacher and bird houses.
• Banana.
  • About the size and shape of the tropical fruit. Good for rattles, sculpture, jewelry, Christmas tree ornaments.
• Basketball.
  • About the size and shape of the NBA's. Used for bowls and baskets, lamps and lamp shades, permanent jack-o'lanterns, globes.
• Birdhouse or purple martin.
  • Probably the most commonly grown hardshell,this gourd has been used in America since long before Columbus arrived as homes for birds. Favorite tenants are purple martins because the birds eat mosquitoes and chase crows while nesting, which is also corn-planting time. The shape is like a round-bottom Hershey's kiss, 8 inches in diameter, 12 inches tall.
• Bottle.
  • Sometimes called lady gourd or dumb bell because of its shape, this is the traditional water bottle because a thong can be tied around its "waist" makes carrying easy. Miniatures start about 3 inches tall; giants can be 24 inches+. Craft uses include lamps, dolls and vases. Some people call this a birdhouse gourd, and it can be used for feathered tenants. Lump in-the-neck gourds are between bottles and dippers in shape.
• Bushel.
  • Also nine-gallon. Real giants, these gourds are often 60 inches+ around and can weigh upwards of 200 pounds at harvest. Used for bowls, baskets (sewing and trash), minnow buckets and bragging.
• Calabash.
  • True calabashes are not what U.S. growers call gourds, but grow on trees where the ground never freezes. However, more and more people use this name for penguin-powderhorn gourds.
• Canteen.
  • Also sugar bowl or sugar trough. Close to the size and shape of what Boy Scouts carry, this gourd has been used to carry water. Decorated gourd canteens were a popular 19th-centurey souvenir from French beaches, and were used for wheels for toy wheelbarrows in Mexico, when wheels were not commonly used for carrying loads.
• Club.
  • Also caveman's club. Shaped like the caveman's favorite accessory, these gourds are about 5 inches in diameter and 24+ inches long. Bread baskets.
• Dipper.
  • A long neck with a bulb is this gourd's characteristic shape. Short-handled dippers have about a 12-inch handle, and long-handled dippers can be 80+ inches. The size of the bulb varies, but is usually about 5 inches in diameter. The traditional use is as a dipper, for drinking and cooking.
• Long.
  • Also baton, snake, longissima. About 5 inches in diameter and 90+ inches long.
• Kettle.
  • A big brother to a birdhouse with thicker shoulders. 16 inches in diameter.
• Maranka.
  • Also dolphin. Very like a short-handled dipper with a large bowl, the maranka has a unique, distinct ridge pattern on the bowl. Houses for small birds.
• Penguin-powderhorn.
  • When a crafter adds eyes and a painted tuxedo, this gourd is a perfect penguin. Its older use was to hold gunpowder. About 4 inches in diameter, the gourd tapers to about an inch at the stem.
• Snake.
  • A uniformly cylindrical gourd as much as 36-inches long, about 3 inches in diameter. A hardshell snake gourd exists, but many seed catalogues use the name for edible cucumbers.
• Tobacco box.
  • Most people agree that this gourd is shaped very like a canteen. Some claim it is just another name for a canteen, others say a tobacco box is more like 12 inches in diameter.
• Warty.
  • A pear-shaped gourd, larger than either the fruit or the pear gourd, this is covered with sturdy warts, making cleaning a worse chore than usual. Few craft uses: owl and sheep figures.

Ornamental Gourds

Ornamental gourds are Cucurbita pepo variety ovifera, members of the same plant family as many squash. Their day-blooming yellow flowers look like zucchini or summer squash blossoms. Today, ornamentals are grown largely for their bright colors, which rarely last after drying. Some gourd growers call them "softshells" because their shells are much thinner than hardshells. Properly harvested and cured, they can make attractive, if less sturdy, craft items.

• Apple.
  • A white, round gourd the size of an apple. (Not the hardshell apple).
• Crown of thorns.
  • Also finger, Ten Commandments or holy gourd. A creamy or green striped (Shinot) gourd, this gourd is a 4-inch oblong shape with a ring of thorns or fingers around the blossom end.
• Egg.
  • Also nest egg. The characteristic shape, color and size mimic a hen's egg. Traditional uses are as a darning egg or to place in nests to trick hens.
• Flat.
  • A green-striped, button-shaped gourd about 3 inches in diameter.
• Orange.
  • In shape, color and size, like the fruit.
• Pear.
  • Green-striped and white versions, the size and shape of the fruit.
• Spoon.
  • Like a 6-inch dipper gourd, brightly colored green and yellow. It could be split longwise to make two spoons. Doll heads.
• Warty.
  • A most often orange, often pear-shaped gourd densely covered with protrusions like warts.

Luffa Gourds

Two kinds of luffa gourd, or vegetable sponge, are widely grown in the United States. Many luffas are mixtures of the two varieties. Their large, bright yellow flowers last out the day. A miniature version is less widely grown.

• Ridged luffa.
  • Luffa acutangula gets its name from ten ridges in its papery outer shell. The zucchini-like fruit is about 3 inches in diameter, 12 inches in length.
• Luffa.
  • Also dishrag gourd. Luffa cylindrica is by far the most commonly grown in the United States.
• Mini luffa.(Ball Luffa)
  • Also hedgehog gourd. About the size of a golf ball, these gourds are covered with spikes and have a very fine inner sponge.

U.S. growers may use familiar names for similar gourds grown in different countries. So we have Mexican bottles, Indonesian bottles, Japanese bottles and more. The differences may be small--or even not apparent to see. Gardeners have grown dippers in many places because dippers are so useful. Each kind may, however, be very different because of growing conditions. Finally, gourd varieties from far away are immigrating to the United States. So new gourds and new names are moving into our gardens at various times.