1324 cojStteibutions from the national heebarium 



Leaves simple 1. C. cujete. 



Leaves trifoliolate 2. C. alata. 



1. Crescentia cujete L. Sp. PI. 626. 1753. 



Guerrero to Chiapas, Yucatdn, Veracruz, and Tamaulipas. Southern Florida, 

 West Indies, and Central and South America; cultivated in the Old World 

 tropics. 



Tree, sometimes 10 meters high, with a trunk 20 cm. in diameter, the branches 

 long and often drooping, the bark thin, close, gray; leaves persistent, oblanceo- 

 late to spatulate, 5 to 16 cm. long, acute to rounded at apex, attenuate to base, 

 entire, glabrous or puberulent beneath; corolla yellowish marked with purple, 

 5 to 8 cm. long, the lobes usually crispate; fruits commonly oval, 15 to 30 cm. 

 long; wood soft, close-grained, flexible. "Giiiro," "huas" "lunch" (Yucatdn); 

 " jlcaro" or "jicara" (the former the tree, the latter the fruit; Tabasco, Oaxaca, 

 Guerrero, Yucatdn, El Salvador, Nicaragua); "cujete" (Yucatdn);" ciridn"' 

 (Guerrero, Palmer); "tecomate," (Oaxaca); "cuautecomate"; "tecomatl"; 

 "drbol de las calabazas" "guaje" (Herrera); "pog" (Oaxaca, Totonac, Ramirez); 

 "morro" (Guatemala); "calabazo," "giiiro totumo" (Sessi & Mocino); "giiira 

 cimarrona" (Cuba, El Salvador) ; "giiira" (Cuba); "calabacero," "guacal" (Costa 

 Rica); "palo de turtumas," "calabazo," "calabaza," "palo de calabaza" (Pana- 

 ma); "morro guacalero" (Guatemala); "mate" (Colombia, Ecuador); "totumo" 

 (Colombia, El Salvador); "cutuco" (El Salvador); "totuma" (Cuba);" jicaro 

 de cuchara," "jicaro de guacal," "huacal" (El Salvador). 



The calabash tree is a common plant of southern Mexico, noteworthy because 

 of its large fruits, many of which are borne close to the trunk. The seeds are 

 sometimes cooked and eaten. The pulp is much used in domestic medicine and 

 is said to have emollient, expectorant, laxative, and astringent properties. It 

 is employed chiefly as a healing agent for wounds and as a remedy for disturb- 

 ances of the respiratory system. The fruit is often eaten by cattle during the 

 dry season, but it is said that it often produces abortion. Seemann states that 

 the sap was employed in Panama for dyeing silk black. The wood is of little 

 value, but is often used for various purposes. The hard shell of the fruit, which 

 resembles a gourd, has been used in Mexico from ancient times for making 

 "jlcaras" or drinking cups, which are often ornamented by carving and painting. 

 Vessels thus made are sufficiently substantial for moderate use over fire. 



2. Crescentia alata H. B. K. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 3: 158. 1819. 

 Parmentiera alata Miers, Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. 26: 166. 1870. 



Baja California and Sonora to Chiapas; Morelos and Veracruz (probably culti- 

 vated); tj^pe from Acapulco, Guerrero. Central America; cultivated in Guam 

 and the Philippines, and probably elsewhere. 



Tree, 5 to 14 meters high, with gray bark and long spreading irregular branches; 

 leaves long-petiolate, the petiole broadly winged and resembling a leaflet, the 

 leaflets usually 3 but sometimes 5, linear to obovate, 2 to 9 cm. long, obtuse or 

 rounded at apex, entire, coriaceous, glabrous; corolla about 6 cm. long, greenish 

 yellow striped with brown; fruit globose or ovoid, 5 to 12 cm. in diameter or often 

 much larger. "Ciridn" (MichoacAn, Guerrero); "tecomate" (Sinaloa); "morro" 

 (Chiapas, Guatemala); "ayal" or "ayale" (Sonora, Sinaloa); "cuautecomate" 

 (Michoacdn); "huajericidn," "tecomatl," "cuautecomatl" {Ramirez); "cuaste- 

 comatl" "giiiro," "guaje ciridn" {Nueva Farm. Mex.); "huiro" {Ramirez); 

 "cuiro"; "jayacaste" (Sinaloa); " raspa-guacal " (Costa Rica); "hoja cruz" 

 (Philippines); "jicara" (Guam); "morrito," "cutuco," "cuchara" (El Salvador). 



The wood is used locally for making wagons and other articles. The flowers 

 have a strong unpleasant odor. The fruit is employed in domestic medicine like 

 that of C. cujete, and the roots also are used medicinally. The pulp is sweet, since 

 it contains much sugar, and is said to be fermented sometimes to obtain alcohol. 



