Editing Gourd

{{Short description|Type of fruit}}
{{Other uses}}
[[File:Դդմեղէն.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|Gourds at a market in [[Massachusetts]]]]

'''Gourds''' include the fruits of some [[flowering plant]] species in the family [[Cucurbitaceae]], particularly ''[[Cucurbita]]'' and ''[[Lagenaria]]''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. Many gourds have large, bulbous bodies and long necks, such as Dipper Gourds, many variations of [[Calabash|Bottle Gourd]] and caveman club gourds. One of the earliest domesticated types of plants, subspecies of the [[bottle gourd]], ''[[Lagenaria siceraria]]'', have been discovered in archaeological sites dating from as early as 13,000 BC. Gourds have had numerous uses throughout history, including as tools, musical instruments, objects of art, film, and food.

==Terminology==
[[File:Gourds - grown in the garden.JPG|thumb|''[[Cucurbita pepo]]'' gourds grown in a suburban garden in [[Australia]]]]

''Gourd'' is occasionally used to describe crop plants in the [[family (biology)|family]] Cucurbitaceae, like [[pumpkin]]s, [[cucumber]]s, [[Cucurbita|squash]], [[luffa]], and [[melon]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cucurbit.org/family.html|title=Cucurbitaceae|last=Andres|first=T. C.|date=2004|website=The Cucurbit Network|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111028061200/http://www.cucurbit.org/family.html|archive-date=2011-10-28|url-status=dead|access-date=2011-10-24}}</ref> More specifically, ''gourd'' refers to the [[fruits]] of plants in the two Cucurbitaceae genera ''[[Lagenaria]]'' and ''[[Cucurbita]]'',<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Paris|first=Harry S.|date=October 1989|title=Historical records, origins, and development of the edible cultivar groups of ''Cucurbita pepo'' (Cucurbitaceae)|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/251359943|journal=[[Economic Botany]]|volume=43|issue=4|pages=423–443|doi=10.1007/BF02935916|bibcode=1989EcBot..43..423P |s2cid=29052282}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Cutler|first1=Hugh C.|last2=Whitaker|first2=Thomas W.|author-link2=Thomas W. Whitaker|date=April 1961|title=History and Distribution of the Cultivated Cucurbits in the Americas|url=http://www.adwr.state.az.us/Adjudications/documents/HopiContestedCaseDisclosures/Hopi%20Initial%20Disclosure/HP416%20-%20HP433.pdf|url-status=dead|journal=[[American Antiquity]]|volume=26|issue=4|pages=469–485|doi=10.2307/278735|jstor=278735|s2cid=161495351 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512232554/http://www.adwr.state.az.us/Adjudications/documents/HopiContestedCaseDisclosures/Hopi%20Initial%20Disclosure/HP416%20-%20HP433.pdf|archive-date=2013-05-12}}</ref> or also to their hollow, dried-out shell.

There are many different gourds worldwide. The main plants referred to as gourds include several species from the genus ''Cucurbita'' (mostly native to North America, including the [[Malabar gourd]] and [[turban squash]]), ''[[Crescentia cujete]]'' (the tree gourd or calabash tree, native to the American tropics) and ''[[Lagenaria siceraria]]'' (bottle gourd, thought to be originally from Africa but present worldwide).<ref name=Prance/><ref name=Summit2001>{{cite book |last=Summit |first=Ginger |year=2001 |title=Gourds in Your Garden: A Guidebook for the Home Gardener |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p3Wv9PjoXQsC&q=Gourds+in+history&pg=PA23 |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company |isbn=0806926996}}</ref>{{rp|21}} Other plants with gourd in their name include the luffa gourd (likely domesticated in Asia), which includes several species from the genus ''[[Luffa]]'', as well as the [[wax gourd]], [[snake gourd]], [[Momordica dioica|teasel gourd]], [[hedgehog gourd]], [[buffalo gourd]]/coyote gourd. The [[bitter melon]]/balsam apple/balsam pear is also sometimes referred to as a gourd.<ref name=Summit2001/>{{rp|18–19, 21}}

==History==
''L. siceraria'', or bottle gourds, have been found in Peruvian archaeological sites dating from 13,000 to 11,000 BC and Thailand sites from 11,000 to 6,000 BC.<ref name=Prance/> A study of bottle gourd [[DNA]] published in 2005 suggests that there are two distinct subspecies of bottle gourds, domesticated independently in Africa and Asia, the latter approximately 4,000 years earlier. The gourds found in the Americas appear to have come from the Asian subspecies very early in history, although a new study now indicates Africa.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/scientists-solve-mystery-world-traveling-plant|title=Scientists Solve Mystery of World-Traveling Plant|last=Wade|first=Lizzie|date=2014-02-10|website=[[Science (journal)|Science]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615164759/https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/02/scientists-solve-mystery-world-traveling-plant|archive-date=2018-06-15|url-status=live}}</ref> The archaeological and DNA records show it is likely that the gourd was among the first domesticated species, in Asia between 12,000 and 13,000 [[Before Present|years before present]], and possibly the first domesticated plant species.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Erickson|first1=David L.|last2=Smith|first2=Bruce D.|author-link2=Bruce D. Smith|last3=Clarke|first3=Andrew C.|last4=Sandweiss|first4=Daniel H.|last5=Tuross|first5=Noreen|year=2005|title=An Asian origin for a 10,000-year-old domesticated plant in the Americas|url=https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/102/51/18315.full.pdf|journal=[[PNAS]]|volume=102|issue=51|pages=18315–18320|bibcode=2005PNAS..10218315E|doi=10.1073/pnas.0509279102|pmc=1311910|pmid=16352716|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Wild, poisonous gourds (''[[Citrullus colocynthis]]'') were unknowingly added to the company of prophets' stew according to a story of [[Elisha]] in the [[Hebrew Bible]]. Elisha added flour to the stew in order to purify it.<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Kings|4:38-41|NKJV}}</ref> This interpretation of the verse is disputed by Rashi's interpretation,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sefaria.org/II_Kings.4.39?lang=he&p2=Rashi_on_II_Kings.4.39.3&lang2=he | title=II Kings 4:39 }}</ref> who translates it as poisonous mushrooms, not poisonous gourds.<ref> תרגום הלע"ז https://books.google.com/books?id=NsZiAAAAMAAJ&q=398 https://books.google.com/books?id=NsZiAAAAMAAJ&q=397</ref>

Gourds continued to be used throughout history in almost every culture throughout the world. [[European discovery of the Americas|European contact]] in North America found extensive gourd use, including the use of bottle gourds as birdhouses to attract [[purple martin]]s, which provided bug control for agriculture{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}. Almost every culture had musical instruments made of gourds, including drums, stringed instruments common to Africa and wind instruments, including the [[nose flute]]s of the Pacific.<ref name=Summit2001/>{{rp|23}}

==Research==
[[File:Gourd image.jpg|thumb|An [[India]]n gourd]]

Scientists in India have been working on crossbreeding six members of the ''[[Momordica]]'' (bitter gourd) genus found in India to reduce the unpleasant taste while retaining the nutritional and medicinal values of the plants. These include [[Momordica dioica|Teasle gourd (''Momordica dioica'')]], [[Spine gourd]] (''[[Momordica subangulata]]''), Sweet gourd (''[[Momordica cochinchinensis]]''), balsam apple (''[[Momordica balsamina]]'') and ''Momordica sahyadrica''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/bitter-gets-better-39103|title=Bitter gets better|last=S.|first=Indu Mathi|date=2012-09-30|website=Down To Earth|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022001546/http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/bitter-gets-better|archive-date=2012-10-22|url-status=live|access-date=2012-12-21}}</ref>

==Uses==
Cultures from arid regions often associate [[Water canister|gourds with water]], and they appear in many [[creation myths]]. Since before human written history, they have had a multitude of uses including [[food storage]], cooking tools, toys, [[musical instruments]] and decoration.<ref name="Prance">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ejo63Wk5rgC&q=history+gourds&pg=PT901|title=The Cultural History of Plants|publisher=Routledge|year=2012|isbn=978-1135958107|editor1=Prance|editor-first=Ghillean|editor-link=Ghillean Prance|pages=21, 348|editor2=Nesbitt|editor-first2=Mark}}</ref> Today, gourds are commonly used for a wide variety of crafts, including jewelry, furniture, dishes, utensils and a wide variety of decorations using carving, burning and other techniques such as lamps and containers for storing objects.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7qHKALAWe8QC&q=crafts+with+gourds|title=Glorious Gourd Decorating|last=Baskett|first=Mickey|publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.|year=2005|isbn=1402727755|page=9}}</ref>

Just one example of a musical instrument is the West African [[Balafon]], a [[xylophone]] that has gourds attached to the bottom of each note for [[resonance]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000001914|title=Balo |encyclopedia= Grove Music Online|publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.01914|last1=Gourlay|first1=K. A. |last2=  Durán|first2=Lucy|year=2001 |isbn=978-1-56159-263-0 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Calebasse.jpg|[[Calabash]] gourd, ''[[Lagenaria siceraria]]'', used for drinking ''[[mate (beverage)|mate]]''
File:Snuff Bottle (Biyanhu) with Flower Vases and Inscriptions LACMA M.45.3.333a-b.jpg|Chinese [[snuff (tobacco)|snuff]] bottle (biyanhu) with body from a gourd grown inside a mould, and a [[jade]] stopper
File:Balafoon.jpg|A ''fixed-key'' balafon, showing gourd resonators with membrane holes
</gallery>

==Folklore==
Gourds have maintained a prominent role in the mythology of numerous cultures. In regard to [[Christianity]], several artists such as [[Frans Floris]] and [[Carlo Crivelli]] have depicted the gourd as a symbol of the Resurrection of Christ, juxtaposed with the Fruit of Good and Evil that was consumed by Adam and Eve. In the [[Old Testament]] of the Christian Bible, a gourd tree was used to shield [[Jonah]] from intense weather conditions while he was surveying Nineveh. <ref>{{bibleverse|Jonah|4:2-11|KJV}}</ref> This terminology is contested by the New King James Version which calls which simply uses the term plant. In [[Catholicism]], the [[calabash]] and rod that pilgrims on the [[Camino de Santiago]] adorn have become synonymous with the image of [[Raphael (archangel)]].

The gourd also makes frequent appearances in [[Chinese mythology]]. The Chinese god of longevity [[Shouxing]] is often depicted carrying a staff with a gourd attached to its end. [[Li Tieguai]], one of the [[Eight Immortals]] is also often depicted with a bottle gourd that contains a special medicine that he uses to aid the sick, poor, or needy. These depictions denote the fruit's significance as a symbol of longevity and the power of medicine within Chinese culture. <ref>{{Cite journal|last=Wilson|first=Eddie W.|date=April 1951|title=The Gourd in Folk Symbolism|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1497969|journal=[[Western Folklore]]|volume=10|issue=2|pages=162–164|doi=10.2307/1497969|jstor=1497969 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==See also==
* A [[güiro]] is a Latin American percussion instrument made from a gourd.
* [[Maraca]]s are percussion instruments often made from gourds.
* A [[sitar]] is a plucked stringed instrument, parts of which are made from gourds.
* [[Africa]]n percussion instruments are made incorporating gourds, including the [[shekere]], [[axatse]], [[balafon]], and [[caxixi]].
* [[Salakot]], a traditional headgear of the Philippines which can be made from the [[bottle gourd]]

== Citations ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== General bibliography ==
* {{Cite journal |last1=Egorova |first1=I. V. |last2=Zhidkov |first2=V. V. |last3=Grinishak |first3=I. P. |last4=Bagryanskaya |first4=I. Yu. |last5=Pervukhina |first5=N. V. |last6=El'tsov |first6=I. V. |last7=Kurat'eva |first7=N. V. |date=January 2019 |title=Antimony Complexes {[2,6−(OMe)<sub>2</sub>C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>3</sub>&#93;<sup>3</sup>SbCH<sub>2</sub>C(O)OEt}<sup>+</sup><sub>2</sub>[Hg<sub>2</sub>I<sub>6</sub>&#93;<sup>2−</sup>and {[2,6−(OMe)<sub>2</sub>C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>3</sub>&#93;<sub>3</sub>SBME}<sup>+</sup><sub>2</sub>[HgI<sub>4</sub>&#93;<sup>2−</sup>⋅DMSO: Synthesis and Structure |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1134/s0036023619010078 |journal=Russian Journal of Inorganic Chemistry |volume=64 |issue=1 |pages=28–35 |doi=10.1134/s0036023619010078 |s2cid=199447333 |issn=0036-0236 |ref=Egorova|url-access=subscription }}{{Relevance inline|reference|date=July 2021|reason=This reference was in this article, but the cited paper's abstract gives no clue as to how it is relevant to gourds.}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Gourds}}
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Gourd |short=x}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Bottles]]
[[Category:Cucurbitaceae]]