Crescentia cujete

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)