Bottle gourd
Lagenaria siceraria
Calabash. Young fruit of edible types is a mild vegetable; mature dry gourds are bottles. Bitter fruit can indicate toxic cucurbitacins — spit out bitter gourd dishes.
GROW → HARVEST → EAT → DRY → POWDER → CAPSULE → GUMMY — forms are not equivalent. Food first.
Identity
Also called: calabash, opo
What it is
Calabash. Young fruit of edible types is a mild vegetable; mature dry gourds are bottles. Bitter fruit can indicate toxic cucurbitacins — spit out bitter gourd dishes.
Edible portions
- young fruit of edible, non-bitter types
Absence of a portion from this list means it is not treated as food here — not that every other part is toxic.
Growing
- Climate. Annual heat
- Light. Full sun
- Soil. Rich
- Planting. Huge vine. Trellis.
- Harvest. Young for food; fully dry for crafts.
Preparation and culinary uses
- Sauté, soup (lauki)
Safety
- Bitter bottle gourd juice has caused poisonings. If it tastes bitter, do not eat or drink it.
Next steps
Sources
- USDA PLANTS Database — taxonomy and range (verify current entries)
- No USDA FoodData Central nutrient profile is attached here. That is not a claim that the plant contains no nutrients.
- State cooperative extension growing guides — verify for your region
Honest incompleteness is preferred to fabricated completeness. If a section is missing, no record for it is attached here — not a claim that the plant lacks that characteristic, and not that it was omitted as a secret.
Internal quality class A. Strong page: distinctive plant facts plus practical growing or kitchen use.