3-665.65.14
Crescentia cujeteClades:
Asteranae,
Lamiidae,
Verbenales,
Bignoniaceae,
Stage 14.
English: Common calabash.
French: Calebassier, Le tam tam.
Region: Central and South America, West Indies, southern Florida.
Culture: national tree of Saint Lucia.
Botany: tree up to 8 m; flowers light green tinged with purple, thin, bell shaped; pollinated at night by bats; fruits big up to 50 cm, hang directly beneath the branches, with a thin hard shell, with a white pulp; seeds thin, dark, large, round or oval shaped, green to brown; flower all year; branches long, spreading horizontally outward; leaves spoon shaped, evergreen, 10 cm long; orchids grow in the bark of the tree; cannot tolerate frost, drought or salt.
Use: ornamental; fruit used as a music instrument, bowls, cups, water dippers, women’s purses
Medical: for afterbirth, for cleansing the placenta; seeds are edible; bark is used to grow orchids.
Sourceshttp: //www.gardeningknowhow.com.
www.brittanica.com.
www.wikipedia.com.
http: //www1.nii.res.in/pdf/calabash.pdf.
plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=CRCU.