Gourd facts for kids

Gourds at a market in Massachusetts

Gourds are the fruits of certain flowering plants, mainly from the Cucurbita and Lagenaria plant groups. Many gourds have hard shells and interesting shapes, like large round bodies with long necks. Think of a dipper gourd or a bottle gourd!

These plants are some of the oldest ones grown by humans. Scientists have found parts of bottle gourds (Lagenaria siceraria) in ancient places that are about 13,000 years old. People have used gourds for many things throughout history. They made them into tools, musical instruments, art, and even food.

What Are Gourds?

Gourds growing in a garden in Australia

The word "gourd" can sometimes describe many plants in the Cucurbitaceae plant family. This family includes familiar foods like pumpkins, cucumbers, zucchinis, squash, luffa, and melons.

More specifically, "gourd" often refers to the fruits of plants in two special groups: Lagenaria and Cucurbita. It can also mean their hollow, dried-out shells.

There are many types of gourds all over the world. Some common ones come from the Cucurbita group, which mostly grows in North America. Examples include the Malabar gourd and turban squash. Another important type is the calabash tree (Crescentia cujete), which grows in warm American regions. The bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) is also very common and is thought to have come from Africa.

Other plants with "gourd" in their name include the luffa gourd, wax gourd, snake gourd, teasel gourd, hedgehog gourd, and buffalo gourd. Even the bitter melon is sometimes called a gourd.

A Long History with People

Bottle gourds (L. siceraria) are truly ancient. They have been found in old sites in Peru from about 13,000 to 11,000 years ago. They were also found in Thailand from 11,000 to 6,000 years ago.

Scientists studied the DNA of bottle gourds in 2005. They found that there are two main types of bottle gourds. These types were first grown by people separately in Africa and Asia. The Asian type was domesticated about 4,000 years earlier. The gourds found in the Americas likely came from the Asian type very early on. This research shows that gourds were probably among the very first plants that humans ever grew for their own use.

Gourds Around the World

Gourds have been important in almost every culture throughout history. When Europeans first arrived in North America, they saw that Native Americans used gourds a lot. For example, they used bottle gourds as birdhouses to attract purple martins. These birds helped control bugs in their farms.

Many cultures also made musical instruments from gourds. These included drums, stringed instruments common in Africa, and even wind instruments like the nose flutes of the Pacific islands.

In an old story from the Hebrew Bible, the prophet Elisha added flour to a stew to make it safe to eat. This was because some wild gourds that were not safe to eat had been accidentally put into the stew.

Modern Discoveries and Uses

An Indian gourd

Scientists in India are working with different types of bitter gourd plants. They are trying to make these gourds taste less bitter. At the same time, they want to keep all the good nutrients and helpful properties that these plants have. Some of the gourds they are studying include Teasle gourd, Spine gourd, Sweet gourd, and balsam apple.

Creative Crafts and Tools

In places with dry climates, people often connect gourds with water. Gourds even appear in many old stories about how the world began. For thousands of years, people have used them for many things. They stored food, made cooking tools, created toys, built musical instruments, and used them for decoration.

Today, gourds are still popular for many crafts. People make jewelry, furniture, dishes, and utensils from them. They also create beautiful decorations by carving, burning, or painting gourds. You can find gourd lamps and containers for storing small items.

Gourd carving is a special kind of folk art in Peru. In 2013, it was recognized as an important part of Peru's National Cultural Heritage.

One example of a musical instrument is the West African Balafon. This is like a xylophone that has gourds attached underneath each note. The gourds help make the sound louder and richer.

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  Calabash gourd, used for drinking a special tea called mate

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  Chinese bottle made from a gourd grown in a mold, with a jade stopper

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  A balafon musical instrument, showing gourds that help make its sound

Gourds in Stories and Legends

Gourds have a special place in the old stories and legends of many cultures. In some old paintings, artists have shown gourds as a symbol of new life. In the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, a gourd plant gave shade to Jonah when he was watching the city of Nineveh. In some traditions, travelers on a special journey called the Camino de Santiago carry a calabash gourd and a rod.

Gourds also appear often in Chinese mythology. The Chinese god of long life, Shouxing, is often shown carrying a staff with a gourd on the end. Li Tieguai, one of the Eight Immortals, is also often seen with a bottle gourd. This gourd holds a special medicine that he uses to help people who are sick, poor, or in need. These stories show that gourds are a symbol of long life and the power of medicine in Chinese culture.

More About Gourds

• A güiro is a Latin American musical instrument made from a gourd.
• Maracas are musical instruments often made from gourds.
• Parts of the sitar and veena, which are stringed instruments, are made from gourds.
• Many African musical instruments use gourds, including the shekere, axatse, balafon, and caxixi.
• The Salakot is a traditional hat from the Philippines that can be made from the bottle gourd.