What is a gourd?
By carmella
@carmella (496)
United States
4 responses
@COLLIS2 (479)
• United States
7 Feb 07
Gourds grow on trees I think and I can tell you that Hawaiians make ipus (a musical instrument) from them. There are larger gourds that look like they have two ipus put together and there are smaller ones that look like single ipus. Ipus are a main element in hula.
1 person likes this
@carmella (496)
• United States
7 Feb 07
Ipu's are awesome!!! I made a cople of them a few years ago, but ahve no clue how to play them. There is a calabash gourd that grows on a tree, but that really isn't the same kind of gourd. In all honesty I know very little about the gourd that grows on a tree. I know a LOT about the gourds like Ipu's are made from. They grow on a vine and can grow on the ground, a trellis, or even up the side of a house or even up the side of a tree!
To learn more about gourds and see some awesome crafted gourds, go here; http://www.thegourdreserfve.com The site is very large, but there is a ton of info and oodles of pictures of crafted gourds, and gourds growing too.
1 person likes this
@cassidy22 (2974)
• United States
6 Feb 07
They are a sort of squash. I don't know if you can eat them... I mean, there are a ton of squashes you can eat, but I have only seen dried out gourds. So you can use them for decoration, I've seen them carved into faces, carved into spoons, used as bird houses and all sorts of things. BUt I don't know if they are edible..
1 person likes this
@carmella (496)
• United States
6 Feb 07
Actually some are edible, but only when they are very young. There are people who like eating gourds, but I have heard they can be toxic, so I wouldn't want to try them. Once they grow to full size they have avery hard shell. The key to making things with gourds is making sure they are grown to maturity, and allowed to fully cure on the vine. Gourds that are picked too early will rot.
@carmella (496)
• United States
5 Feb 07
Gourds are really cool, you can do so many things with them. I want to see how many responses I get and how many people know what a gourd is. I'm always asked , :what is a gourd", and it surprises me that so few people know what one is, so I thought I would see how many my lotters know what it is.
@chaygylmommy (2470)
• United States
6 Feb 07
well, i know that a gourd is some sort of pumpkin type thing. they are all over the place around Halloween. LOL Not sure what all to do with them, though. I am interested to know.
1 person likes this
@carmella (496)
• United States
6 Feb 07
They are related to the pumkin, however there are two different species of gourd, the Langenaria, (hard shell gourds), and the Cucurbita, (soft shell gourds). The Cucurbita is the closest to the pumkin. They both have yellow flowers and bloom during the day. Langenaria gourds have white flowers and bloom at night. Cucurbita's are the gourds you see the most of being sold at holloween, they do not always dry out well, and generally are not crafted into anything. Those who grow gourds to craft though can achieve a Cucurbita that will dry nicely and can be crafted into a number of things, but they all tend to have a thin shell to them. Langenaria's dry out a lot better and can be crafted into lots of different things, from bird houses to Thumb Pianos. Langeneria's can have a shell up to an inch thick and they come in all shapes and sizes. I had a gourd that weighed over 100 pounds when it was done growing, and stood about 2 feet tall! Tomorrow I'll post some pictures of some of the gourds we've grown and some that we have crafted.
