Calabash gourd bottle Dinosaur seeds - Lagenaria siceraria

The Gourd or Calabash 'Dinosaur' is a variety of ornamental squash that owes its name to the shape of its fruits. They are a shiny dark green, with marked ridges and equipped with a long "neck". This cucurbit is a vigorous creeping or climbing plant, easy to sow and very fast-growing. These gourds are not edible, they can be used to make decorative or useful objects like original containers. The fruits are harvested about 125 days after sowing, from July to October-November, before the first frosts.

The 'Dinosaur' calabash comes from a plant in the cucurbit family called Cucurbita or Lagenaria siceraria. It is a tropical annual plant, selected and domesticated for a long time by humans who use its fruits, with a very hard and waterproof bark, as containers. According to some, its origins are believed to be in Africa, Thailand, or Peru.

This creeping or climbing, 'Dinosaur' calabash sprouts, blooms, and fruits in 4 to 5 months. It develops branched stems that can measure 3m long, with tendrils opposite the leaves, able to cling to any support within their reach. The green leaves are simple, rounded, hairy, soft to the touch. Flowering occurs from July to September, about 4 months after sowing. It consists of male flowers which are distinct from female flowers, white, funnel-shaped and opening at dusk. Only female flowers produce fruits. The fruit is fleshy, round at the base, with a thinner, curved protrusion. It is covered with shiny, very dark green skin, with some very pronounced ridges. The whole can measure between 45 and 60 cm in height, with a "bowl" of 18-20 cm in diameter. The fruit pulp dries and turns woody at maturity, becoming as hard as wood.

Sow 'Dinosaur' gourd or calabash seeds in spring, under heated shelter, like vegetable plants. Plant them in the ground, or in large pots, providing support for them to climb. Their unusual fruits are very decorative. You can arrange them in a large bowl, mixed with grape clusters, apples, pears, Virginia creeper leaves, mini-pumpkins, and many more. Also, combine them with Chinese lanterns (Physalis franchetii) and small-fruited gourds in a dish placed on the table. You can let them climb on a pergola or arbour ir intrugue your visitors! Dried fruits can be kept for many years. Depending on personal preferences, you can paint, wax, or varnish them. Birds may make their nest in a fruit emptied of its seeds!