calabash

Calabash is a common name for two different plants that produce hard-shelled gourds used as containers and in crafts, as well as for the dried fruit shells themselves. The most widely known is the bottle gourd, Lagenaria siceraria, grown for its fruit which matures into a hard, hollow shell. When dried and cured, this shell becomes a calabash vessel, used for carrying, storing, drinking, or serving food in many parts of the world. The immature fruit of the bottle gourd is edible in various cuisines, but the mature fruit is typically not consumed.

A second plant associated with the name is the calabash tree, Crescentia cujete (and related Crescentia species in some classifications). The tree produces very large, hard-shelled fruits that can also be dried and hollowed for use as bowls, canteens, or ceremonial objects. These calabash shells are valued in many tropical regions for their durability and natural shape, and they are employed in crafts, daily utilitarian items, and sometimes in musical contexts.

In music and culture, dried calabash gourds are used as percussion or resonating elements and as decorative or ritual objects. Instruments such as calabash drums, rattles, and vessels incorporate the hard-shell gourds for their resonant quality and portability.

Etymology-wise, the term calabash derives from the French calebasse, itself from Spanish calabaza meaning “pumpkin,” ultimately tracing to older Latin or Mediterranean linguistic roots.