Alan Davidson

Bottle Gourd

Appears in
Oxford Companion to Food
Oxford Companion to Food

By Alan Davidson

Published 2014

  • About

bottle gourd Lagenaria siceraria, is also called calabash or white-flowered gourd, by way of distinguishing it from the yellow-flowered Cucurbita spp. It is generally regarded as a native of Africa, but has been cultivated in Asia and America since prehistoric times.

Archaeological evidence from the Peruvian highlands shows that the bottle gourd was there in the period 13000–11000 bc. There are numerous other reports from the Peruvian coast and Mexico of its presence somewhat later, 7000–4000 bc.