Malabar Gourd, Figleaf gourd
Cucurbita ficifolia

Family: Cucurbitaceae

What it is like

Cucurbita ficifolia is a PERENNIAL CLIMBER at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10 and is frost tender. It is in flower from July to September, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The species is monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and is pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist or wet soil.

Height (m): 0

Where it is found

Not known in the wild.

E. Asia? Original habitat is obscure.

Conservation Status:

Countries/locations it is found in

How it is used

Food

Rating: 3

Fruit - cooked. Best used when young, at that stage it can be used like a cucumber. The mature fruits are sometimes boiled and eaten. A confection is made from the flesh by boiling it with crude sugar. The mature fruit can be stored for 2 years or more and becomes sweeter with storage. The fruit is up to 35cm in diameter. Seed - raw. Rich in oil with a nutty flavour but very fiddly to use because the seed is small and covered with a fibrous coat. The seed is delicious when roasted and eaten like peanuts. An edible oil is obtained from the seed. It is rich in oleic acid.

Oil: Oil

Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.

Medicine

Rating: 2

The seeds are vermifuge. The complete seed, together with the husk, is used. This is ground into a fine flour, then made into an emulsion with water and eaten. It is then necessary to take a purgative afterwards in order to expel the tapeworms or other parasites from the body. As a remedy for internal parasites, the seeds are less potent than the root of Dryopteris felix-mas, but they are safer for pregnant women, debilitated patients and children.

Vermifuge: Expels and kills internal parasites.

Other

Rating:

The shell of the mature fruit is very hard and it can be used as a container.

Containers: Plants, such as gourds, that can be used as containers. Does not include baskets or containers made from wood.

Oil: Vegetable oils have many uses, as lubricants, lighting, soap and paint making, waterproofing etc. This does not include the edible oils unless they are also mentioned as having other uses.

Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Staple Crop: Protein-oil: (16+ percent protein, 16+ percent oil). Annuals include soybeans, peanuts, sunflower seeds. Perennials include seeds, beans, nuts, and fruits such as almond, Brazil nut, pistachio, walnut, hazel, and safou.

Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Staple Crop: Protein-oil: (16+ percent protein, 16+ percent oil). Annuals include soybeans, peanuts, sunflower seeds. Perennials include seeds, beans, nuts, and fruits such as almond, Brazil nut, pistachio, walnut, hazel, and safou.

Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.

How it is grown

Requires a rich, well-drained moisture retentive soil and a very warm, sunny and sheltered position. Tolerates poor, wet and badly drained soils according to another report. Plants are not very frost-tolerant, they can be grown as an annual in temperate climates, and are sometimes cultivated for their edible fruit in warmer areas of the world. A very vigorous plant, it can produce shoots 25 metres long in 1 year from seed in Britain. This is the hardiest member of the genus but its fruits are coarse and stringy when grown in Britain so it is usually grown as an ornamental plant only. Plants are day-length sensitive, flowering only in late summer and autumn. This species does not hybridize naturally with other members of the genus though crosses have been made under controlled conditions. In America it takes 3 months from seed to first harvest and 6 months to obtain mature fruit. The average fruit size is 9 kilos and this contains 2 cups of seed.

Propagating it: Seed - sow early to mid spring in a greenhouse in a rich soil. Germination should take place within 2 weeks. Sow 2 or 3 seeds per pot and thin out to the best plant. Grow them on fast and plant out after the last expected frosts, giving them cloche or frame protection for at least their first few weeks if you are trying them outdoors.

Best place to grow: Cultivated Beds;

Habit: Perennial Climber

Hardiness: 9-11

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: Semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Moist, wet

Things to keep in mind

The sprouting seed produces a toxic substance in its embryo.

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

C. melanospermum.