Eden

Penang Botanic Gardens Plant Collection

Crescentia cujete L. (BIGNONIACEAE)

Posted at — Nov 13, 2019
Calabash Tree

Description

Small evergreen or deciduous tree 6 to 9 m tall, with low multiple branches. Leaves to c. 25 cm long, obovate, arranged in clusters on branches. Flowers 5-6.5 cm long borne singly on stout stalks on trunk and branches, light green, bell-shaped. Fruits large, globose to ovoid, 10-30 cm diameter, green ripening brown with very hard skin.


Distribution

Widely cultivated in C and S America, wild origin uncertain.

Uses

Widely grown as an ornamental in the tropics. The fruits are made bowls, cups, jugs, water containers and other utensils, as well as decorated ornaments and musical instruments.