gourdlike

Gourdlike is a descriptive term used in botany, horticulture, and related design fields to indicate a shape resembling a gourd. Gourds are members of the Cucurbitaceae family and include a wide range of fruits, some edible when immature and others used for containers, crafts, or decoration. A gourdlike form typically features a bulbous or rounded body that tapers into a narrower neck, a bottle- or calabash-like silhouette, and a hard rind with ridges or other surface textures.

The term is non-taxonomic and descriptive rather than a strict classification. It is applied to cultivated plants such as bottle gourds, ornamental gourds, pumpkins, and some squashes that share the characteristic form, as well as to vessels or sculptures inspired by gourd shapes.

In horticulture and design, gourdlike forms are noted for their ornamental appeal as well as their practical use in dried-gourd crafts. Dried gourds have historically been used to make bowls, containers, percussion instruments, and decorative objects, a lineage that reinforces the cultural association of the term with both living plants and shaped objects.

See also: gourd, calabash, bottle gourd.