Crescentia cujete

This article is about the tree. For the unrelated plant sometimes known as calabash, see calabash. For other uses of calabash, see Calabash (disambiguation).

Crescentia cujete
Fruiting branches, and showing bowl made of the hard rind of a fruit of that tree (Koutiala District, Mali, September 2014)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Bignoniaceae
Genus: Crescentia
Species:
C. cujete
Binomial name
Crescentia cujete
Crescentia cujete, dry fruit and seeds – MHNT
Flower
Pollen grains, magnified

Crescentia cujete, commonly known as the calabash tree, is a species of flowering plant native to the Americas, that is grown in Africa, South-East Asia, Central America, South America, the West Indies and extreme southern Florida.[2] It is the national tree of St. Lucia. It is a dicotyledonous plant with simple leaves, which are alternate or in fascicles (clusters) on short shoots.[3] It is naturalized in India.[4] The tree shares its common name with that of the vine calabash, or bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria).[2]

In Cuba, this tree is known to grow in both disturbed habitat and areas of poor drainage. It can grow up to 10 meters tall.[5]

  1. ^ Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI); IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group (2019). "Crescentia cujete". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T144274257A149042622. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T144274257A149042622.en. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Calabash tree | Description, Uses, & Facts".
  3. ^ GENTRY, A.H. 1996. A field guide to the families and genera of woody plants of northwest South America (Columbia, Ecuador, Peru), with supplementary notes on herbaceous taxa. University of Chicago Press. p. 265.
  4. ^ Pharmacographia Indica page 40
  5. ^ Cuba y sus árboles. Fernández Zequeira, Maira., Instituto de Ecología y Sistemática (Academia de Ciencias de Cuba). La Habana: Editorial Academia. 1999. ISBN 9590202527. OCLC 44573671.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)