LAGENARIA VULGARIS, Seringe.' 



fFiie Plate XL VIII.] 



English, bottle gourd ; Veenaculae, kaddu, al-kaddu, lauki, kashiphal, and gol kaddu 

 (Bijnor), tumri (small variety). 



Natural order Cucurhitacece, tribe Cucumerinece. Whole plant softly pubescent. Stems exten- 

 sively trailing or climbing, thick, 5-angled ; tendrils 2-fid. Leaves on long petioles ; petiole almost 

 round with a deep furrow on the upper surface and with a short conical gland on either side at its 

 apex ; limb cordate orbicular, often 6 in. in diameter, obscurely 3-5-lobed, rounded or acute at the 

 apex ; basal sinus rather deep ; veins prominent beneath and pedately arranged. Flowers large, 

 white, solitary, moncEcious. Male flower : — peduncle often 6 in. long, slender, angular, sulcata. 

 Calyx tube campanulate ; teeth 5, subulate. Petals crumpled, emarginate or mucronate at the 

 apex, hairy on both sides especially towards the base ; stamens 3 ; anthers conduplicate. Female 

 flowers : — peduncle thicker and much shorter than that of the male ; calyx and corolla as in the 

 male ; ovary oblong, softly pubescent ; style short, bearing 3 bifid stigmas. Fruit variable in 

 shape and size, usually bottle or dumbbell-shaped. Seeds f-| in. long, white, obovate oblong 

 or triangular, or bidentate at the apex, with a groove within the margin. 



This pliint has been found wild in India, the Moluccas and also in Abyssinia.f 

 It is now cultivated in most warm climates, including America, China and Australia. 



The numerous varieties of this species are chiefly distinguished by the character of 

 the fruit which assumes all kinds of shapes from that of a siphon or flask to that of a 

 turnip. 



The fruit is eaten by Europeans as well as by Natives ; when cut young it takes 

 the place of vegetable marrow. Natives boil and slice the whole fruit, or the pulp is 

 eaten with vinegar or mixed with rice as a vegetable curry. The bottles used by 

 beggars and others are the dried empty fruits of this species. The iumri variety is not 

 edible ; its fruit is used for making the stringed instrument called siiar. 



Mr. GollanJ gives the following information regarding the cultivation of this 

 gourd : — 



" It can be sown as early as February, and as late as July. However for rainy season use, two sowings 

 " should be made, the first in April and the second in June. The first sowing will be ready for use in the 

 " beginning of the rains. The second will come in about the middle, and keep up the supply until the cold 



season. It can be sown in nurseries and transplanted, or sown at once where intended to be grown. The 

 " latter mode is preferable, but if an empty plot is not available when the sowing season arrives, it is better to 

 " adopt the first named, than let the sowing season slip past. It succeeds best in heavily manured sandy soil, 



but will thrive ordinarily well in any. When sown or transplanted, the seeds or plants should be inserted 



* References :—W. & A. Prod. 341 ; Wight 111. t. 105; Hook. Fl. Brit. Ind. ii. 613; Baden-Powell Punj. Prod. 

 264 ; Atkinson Econom. Prod. N.-W. P. Part v. p. 5 ; Gaz. N.-W. P. Vol. x. 700 ; Naudin in Ann. Sc. Nat. Ser. 4 Vol. 12 

 p. 91 ; Cogniaux in DC. Mon. Phan. iii. 417 ; DC. L'Orig. PI. Cult. 195 ; Indian Forester, Vol. ix. (1883) p. 202 ; Cucurbita 

 Lagenaria, Linn. ; Roxb. Fl. Ind. iii. 718. C. Pepo. Gaz. N.-W. P. Vol. x. 702 (in part). 



t L'Orig. PI. Cult. 1. c. 



J Ind. For. loc. cit. 



