The Gourd

Dan Agri View, Alabama, Florida, General, Georgia, Specialty Crops

gourdEverett Griner talks about the gourd. The plant that vanished in today’s Agri View.


Download Audio


400x80 Web
 

Excerpts from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A gourd is a plant of the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly Cucurbita and Lagenaria or the fruit of the two genera of Bignoniaceae “calabash tree”, Crescentia and Amphitecna.

Chinese snuff bottle (Biyanhu) with body from a moulded gourd, and a jade stopper.The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. Likely 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. Today, research is being conducted into bitter gourds, Momordica charantia, to reduce its unpleasant taste while keeping the nutritional and medicinal benefits. Gourds have had numerous uses throughout history, including as tools, musical instruments, objects of art, film, and food.

History

L. siceraria was brought to Europe and the Americas very early in history, being found in Peruvian archaeological sites dating from 13,000 to 11,000 BC and Thailand sites from 11,000 to 6,000 BC. 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; a new study now indicates Africa The archaeological and DNA record shows it likely that the gourd was among the first domesticated species, in Asia between 12,000 and 13,000 BP, and possibly the first domesticated plant species.

Gourds continued to be used throughout history, in almost every culture throughout the world. European contact in North America found extensive gourd use, including the use of bottle gourds as birdhouses to attract purple martins, which provided bug control for agriculture. Almost every culture had musical instruments made of gourds, including drums, stringed instruments common to Africa and wind instruments, including the nose flutes of the Pacific.

Uses

A calabash gourd, Lagenaria siceraria, used for drinking mateCultures from arid regions often associated gourds with water, and they appear in many creation myths. Since the beginning of their history, they have had a multitude of uses, including food, kitchen tools, toys, musical instruments and decoration. 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.

The Chinese developed a technique of tying a two-part mould round young gourds, or a part of them, so that the gourd grew into the mould and took its shape. Shaped gourds had various decorative uses, especially as boxes, bottles and other containers.

The Luffa gourds, Luffa aegyptiaca and Luffa acutangula, have been used throughout recent history as scrubbing sponge and strainer. This is prepared by removing the skin and pulp from the gourd, and bleaching the fibers.

Read the full article.

Image credits: (middle right) “Snuff Bottle (Biyanhu) with Flower Vases and Inscriptions LACMA M.45.3.333a-b” by Image: http://collections.lacma.org/sites/default/files/remote_images/piction/ma-31929957-O3.jpg Gallery: http://collections.lacma.org/node/228787. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Snuff_Bottle_(Biyanhu)_with_Flower_Vases_and_Inscriptions_LACMA_M.45.3.333a-b.jpg#/media/File:Snuff_Bottle_(Biyanhu)_with_Flower_Vases_and_Inscriptions_LACMA_M.45.3.333a-b.jpg

(lower left) “Calebasse” by André Karwath aka Aka – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Calebasse.jpg#/media/File:Calebasse.jpg