''Crescentia cujete'', commonly known as the calabash tree, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

a medium size tree in the trumpet vine family

Bignoniaceae Bignoniaceae () is a Family (biology), family of flowering plants in the Order (biology), order Lamiales commonly known as the bignonias or trumpet vines.Vernon H. Heywood, Richard K. Brummitt, Ole Seberg, and Alastair Culham. ''Flowering Plant ...

native to the Americas, and which is grown in Africa, Southeast Asia, Central America, South America, the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

and extreme southern

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. It is the national tree of

St. Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

. It is a

dicotyledon The dicotyledons, also known as dicots (or, more rarely, dicotyls), are one of the two groups into which all the flowering plants (angiosperms) were formerly divided. The name refers to one of the typical characteristics of the group: namely, ...

ous plant with simple leaves, which are alternate or in fascicles (clusters) on short shoots. Its very useful fruit is up to long by wide. According to Bailey it can occasionally be wide. It is naturalized in India. The tree shares its common name with that of the vine

calabash Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, New Guinea butter bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvest ...

, or bottle gourd ('' Lagenaria siceraria''). In Cuba, this tree is known to grow in both disturbed habitat and areas of poor drainage. It can grow up to tall.

Uses

Caribbean

The fruit is primarily used to make utensils such as cups, bowls, and basins in rural areas. It can be used for carrying water, or for transporting fish, when fishing. In some Caribbean countries, it is worked, painted, and decorated and turned into items by artisans, and sold to tourists. As a cup, bowl, or even a water-pipe or "

bong A bong (also known as a water pipe) is a filtration device generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco, or other herbal substances. In the bong shown in the photo, the smoke flows from the lower port on the left to the upper port on the right ...

", the calabash is considered consistent with the "

Ital Ital, also spelled I-tal (), is food often celebrated by those in the Rastafari movement. It is compulsory in the Bobo Ashanti and Nyabinghi mansions, though not in the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The word derives from the English word "vital", ...

" or vital lifestyle of not using refined products such as table salt, or modern cooking methods, such as microwave ovens. In Haiti, the plant is called ''kalbas kouran'', literally, "running calabash", and is used to make the sacred rattle emblematic of the Vodou priesthood, called an ''asson''. As such, the plant is highly respected. It is the national tree of St. Lucia. In Cuba, the dried fruit is commonly used as a coffee cup by rural farmers. In Dominican Republic, the plant is called the higüero tree and it is popularly used to make decorative objects and ornaments, though historically it has been used in all sorts of ways.

Costa Rica

The Costa Rican town of Santa Bárbara de Santa Cruz holds a traditional annual dance of the calabashes (''baile de los guacales''). Since 2000, the activity has been considered of cultural interest to the community, and all participants receive a hand-painted calabash vessel to thank them for their economic contribution (which they paid in the form of an entrance ticket). Native Americans throughout the country traditionally serve ''

chicha ''Chicha'' is a Fermentation, fermented (alcoholic) or non-fermented beverage of Latin America, emerging from the Andes and Amazonia regions. In both the pre- and post-Spanish conquest of Peru, Spanish conquest periods, corn beer (''chicha de jo ...

'' in calabash vessels to the participants of special events such as the ''baile de los diablitos'' (dance of the little devils).

Mexico

In many rural parts of Mexico, the calabash is dried and carved hollow to create a ''bule'' or a ''guaje'', a

gourd 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 ha ...

used to carry water around like a canteen. The ''jícara'' fruit is cut in half, which gave the parallel name to a clay cup also called ''jícara''. These jícaras can also be used for serving or drinking.

Brazil

Bowls made of calabash were used by Brazilians as utensils made to serve food, and the practice is still retained in some remote areas of Brazil (originally by populations of various ethnicities, origins and regions, but nowadays mainly by Native Americans). The fruit are also commonly used in Brazil as the resonator for the ''

berimbau The berimbau (, borrowed from Kimbundu ''mbirimbau'') is a traditional Angolan musical bow that is commonly used in Brazil. It is also known as ''sekitulege'' among the Baganda and Busoga. It consists of a single-stringed bow attached to a gourd ...

'', the signature instrument of

capoeira Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art and game that includes elements of dance, acrobatics, capoeira music, music, and spirituality. It likely originated from enslaved Mbundu people, of the Kingdom of Ndongo, in present-day Angola. The ...

, a martial art/dance developed in Brazilian plantations by enslaved Africans.

Colombia

In Colombia, the dried fruit is halved and then partially filled with either stones, beads, seeds, broken glass or a combination and is then used to keep the rhythm in ''bullerengue'' music. The dried fruit are filled with certain seeds and a handle is made to make maracas in multiple Latin American countries (especially Colombia and Cuba).

Africa

In Western and Southern Africa it is also used for decoration and musical instruments. Calabash bowls are also widely used by women working as artisanal gold miners, to 'pan for' & recover fine grains of gold.

References

External links

*
Plant of the Week 31 January 2005: Calabash Tree (''Crescentia cujete'')

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q214542 cujete Trees of Central America Trees of the Caribbean Tropical fruit Trees of the Dominican Republic Trees of Cuba Trees of Panama Trees of Northern America Trees of Belize Trees of Brazil Trees of Colombia Trees of Africa Flora of northern South America Fruits originating in North America Medicinal plants of Central America Medicinal plants of South America National symbols of Saint Lucia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora without expected TNC conservation status