Monographs Details:
Authority:
Gentry, Alwyn H. 1980. Bignoniaceae--Part 1. (Crescentieae and Tourrettieae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 25: 1-130. (Published by NYBG Press)
Gentry, Alwyn H. 1980. Bignoniaceae--Part 1. (Crescentieae and Tourrettieae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 25: 1-130. (Published by NYBG Press)
Family:
Bignoniaceae
Bignoniaceae
Synonyms:
Crescentia acuminata Kunth, Crescentia arborea Raf., Crescentia cuneifolia Gardner, Crescentia angustifolia Willd. ex Seem., Crescentia fasciculata Miers, Crescentia plectantha Miers, Crescentia spathulata Miers, Crescentia cujete var. puberula Bureau & K.Schum.
Crescentia acuminata Kunth, Crescentia arborea Raf., Crescentia cuneifolia Gardner, Crescentia angustifolia Willd. ex Seem., Crescentia fasciculata Miers, Crescentia plectantha Miers, Crescentia spathulata Miers, Crescentia cujete var. puberula Bureau & K.Schum.
Description:
Species Description - Tree to 10 m tall and 30 cm dbh., the branches usually crooked, the crown open; branchlets mostly lacking, smaller branches thick, subterete, with alternate short-shoot projections each bearing a fascicle of leaves from its center. Leaves of various sizes within each fascicle, simple, obovate, the tip obtuse to acute, the base attenuate, petiole lacking, (1.5-)4-26 cm long, (0.7-)1-7.6 cm wide, chartaceous to rigid-chartaceous, the midvein raised above; lepidote above and beneath, otherwise glabrous above, beneath glabrous or pubescent along midvein with simple and forked trichomes, plate-shaped glands at base of blade beneath, drying grayish-olive. Inflorescence one or 2 cauliflorous flowers borne on larger branches or trunk, the pedicel lepidote, 1.5-3 cm long. Flowers with calyx bilabiately split to the base, each lobe 1.8-2.6 cm long and 1.3-2.4 cm wide, mostly glabrous with plate-shaped glands on the upper half of lobes, slightly lepidote at the base; corolla yellowish-tan with purplish venation on the lobes and purplish lines on the tube outside, tubular-campanulate with a transverse fold midway across the lower side of the throat, fleshy, 4.1-7.4 cm long and 3.1-4.5 cm wide at the mouth of the tube, the tube 2.8-4.5 cm long, the lobes triangular with the apex extended as a narrow point, 2.5-3.1 cm long, sparsely lepidote or stalked-lepidote on the tube outside and near the mouth of tube inside, more densely so at level of stamen insertion, papillate-glandular on the lobes outside and sparsely so inside; stamens subexserted, the anther thecae thick, partially divergent, 5-8 mm long, ca. 3 mm wide, the filaments 2.8-3.3 cm long, inserted 7-15 mm from the base of the tube, the staminode 1-3 mm long, inserted 5-11 mm from the base of the tube; pistil 4-5 cm long, the ovary rounded conical, 5-7 mm long, 4-7 mm wide, 3-6 mm thick, lepidote, the ovules multi-seriate on 4 placentae; disc annular-pulvinate, 3-4 mm long, 8-11 mm wide. Fruit a pepo or calabash, spherical to ovoid-elliptic, (8-)13-20 cm in diam., to 30 cm long, the thin hard shell smooth, lepidote-punctate; seeds small, thin, wingless, 7-8 mm long, 4-6 mm wide, scattered through the pulp of the fruit.
Species Description - Tree to 10 m tall and 30 cm dbh., the branches usually crooked, the crown open; branchlets mostly lacking, smaller branches thick, subterete, with alternate short-shoot projections each bearing a fascicle of leaves from its center. Leaves of various sizes within each fascicle, simple, obovate, the tip obtuse to acute, the base attenuate, petiole lacking, (1.5-)4-26 cm long, (0.7-)1-7.6 cm wide, chartaceous to rigid-chartaceous, the midvein raised above; lepidote above and beneath, otherwise glabrous above, beneath glabrous or pubescent along midvein with simple and forked trichomes, plate-shaped glands at base of blade beneath, drying grayish-olive. Inflorescence one or 2 cauliflorous flowers borne on larger branches or trunk, the pedicel lepidote, 1.5-3 cm long. Flowers with calyx bilabiately split to the base, each lobe 1.8-2.6 cm long and 1.3-2.4 cm wide, mostly glabrous with plate-shaped glands on the upper half of lobes, slightly lepidote at the base; corolla yellowish-tan with purplish venation on the lobes and purplish lines on the tube outside, tubular-campanulate with a transverse fold midway across the lower side of the throat, fleshy, 4.1-7.4 cm long and 3.1-4.5 cm wide at the mouth of the tube, the tube 2.8-4.5 cm long, the lobes triangular with the apex extended as a narrow point, 2.5-3.1 cm long, sparsely lepidote or stalked-lepidote on the tube outside and near the mouth of tube inside, more densely so at level of stamen insertion, papillate-glandular on the lobes outside and sparsely so inside; stamens subexserted, the anther thecae thick, partially divergent, 5-8 mm long, ca. 3 mm wide, the filaments 2.8-3.3 cm long, inserted 7-15 mm from the base of the tube, the staminode 1-3 mm long, inserted 5-11 mm from the base of the tube; pistil 4-5 cm long, the ovary rounded conical, 5-7 mm long, 4-7 mm wide, 3-6 mm thick, lepidote, the ovules multi-seriate on 4 placentae; disc annular-pulvinate, 3-4 mm long, 8-11 mm wide. Fruit a pepo or calabash, spherical to ovoid-elliptic, (8-)13-20 cm in diam., to 30 cm long, the thin hard shell smooth, lepidote-punctate; seeds small, thin, wingless, 7-8 mm long, 4-6 mm wide, scattered through the pulp of the fruit.
Discussion:
Uses. Extensively cultivated for the hard shells of its fruits which are widely used as household utensils, bailers for canoes, and as a storage container. As already noted, use of the fruit was already widespread in preColombian times. The pulp is sometimes used medicinally as in the Cuban “jarabe de güira,” used against chest infection or as a laxative (Leon & Alain), or for “tortions of the Guts or dry Gripes” (Wafer). The pulp is occasionally reported as more or less edible as by Wafer who reports that the Indians frequently sucked out the juice (spitting out the pulp) on forced marches. In the early 1800’s the fruit was eaten on the Ecuadorian island of Puna (Barclay 361). Even an infusion of the flowers is used for earache (Leon & Alain) and for whooping cough (Marshall 28). In Guyana the seeds are used as a contraceptive and the leaf boiled with others to give a fever remedy (Hardy 302). The fruit shell is often painted or engraved and used as a curio or wall-hanging.Two variants of this polymorphic species may deserve taxonomic recognition. Both differ from typical C. cujete in smaller more coriaceous leaves and fruit. One of these, the common species of the coastal savannas of Belize, is a dominant member of the savannah formation and forms completely homogeneous populations with 1.5-9 cm by 0.8-2.5 cm leaves and 8 cm diameter fruits. It seems more distinct from cultivated C. cujete than, for example, many of the accepted Cuban species of Tabebuia are from each other. Additional field work is needed to evaluate its status. The second small-leaved variant of C. cujete occurs in the Mountain Pine Ridge region of western Belize and adjacent Petén—Belize. Cayo: Mountain Pine Ridge, Bartlett 13103, 11212. Guatemala. Petén: La Libertad, Lundell 3279. It has 0.7-1.7 cm wide leaves less than 8 cm long and is thus very similar to the coastal savannah form, but can easily be distinguished by discolorous leaves with conspicuously light tannish undersurfaces. If additional collections prove that naturally occurring populations of C. cujete from coastal Mexico are uniformly like cultivated C. cujete in large fruits and large thin leaves, these two allopatric smallleaved populations would probably have to be considered distinct subspecies. However, the apparently natural occurrence of a similar small-leaved variant on Curaçao—said to develop large thin leaves when cultivated and irrigated (Stoffers, pers. comm.)—suggests that much of this ecotypic variation is only phenotypic.
Uses. Extensively cultivated for the hard shells of its fruits which are widely used as household utensils, bailers for canoes, and as a storage container. As already noted, use of the fruit was already widespread in preColombian times. The pulp is sometimes used medicinally as in the Cuban “jarabe de güira,” used against chest infection or as a laxative (Leon & Alain), or for “tortions of the Guts or dry Gripes” (Wafer). The pulp is occasionally reported as more or less edible as by Wafer who reports that the Indians frequently sucked out the juice (spitting out the pulp) on forced marches. In the early 1800’s the fruit was eaten on the Ecuadorian island of Puna (Barclay 361). Even an infusion of the flowers is used for earache (Leon & Alain) and for whooping cough (Marshall 28). In Guyana the seeds are used as a contraceptive and the leaf boiled with others to give a fever remedy (Hardy 302). The fruit shell is often painted or engraved and used as a curio or wall-hanging.Two variants of this polymorphic species may deserve taxonomic recognition. Both differ from typical C. cujete in smaller more coriaceous leaves and fruit. One of these, the common species of the coastal savannas of Belize, is a dominant member of the savannah formation and forms completely homogeneous populations with 1.5-9 cm by 0.8-2.5 cm leaves and 8 cm diameter fruits. It seems more distinct from cultivated C. cujete than, for example, many of the accepted Cuban species of Tabebuia are from each other. Additional field work is needed to evaluate its status. The second small-leaved variant of C. cujete occurs in the Mountain Pine Ridge region of western Belize and adjacent Petén—Belize. Cayo: Mountain Pine Ridge, Bartlett 13103, 11212. Guatemala. Petén: La Libertad, Lundell 3279. It has 0.7-1.7 cm wide leaves less than 8 cm long and is thus very similar to the coastal savannah form, but can easily be distinguished by discolorous leaves with conspicuously light tannish undersurfaces. If additional collections prove that naturally occurring populations of C. cujete from coastal Mexico are uniformly like cultivated C. cujete in large fruits and large thin leaves, these two allopatric smallleaved populations would probably have to be considered distinct subspecies. However, the apparently natural occurrence of a similar small-leaved variant on Curaçao—said to develop large thin leaves when cultivated and irrigated (Stoffers, pers. comm.)—suggests that much of this ecotypic variation is only phenotypic.
Distribution:
Acklins Bahamas South America| Cat Island Bahamas South America| Eleuthera Bahamas South America| Ragged Island Bahamas South America| Bahamas South America| Belize Belize Central America| Cayo Belize Central America| Orange Walk Belize Central America| Toledo Belize Central America| Grand Cayman Cayman Islands South America| Antioquia Colombia South America| Atlántico Colombia South America| Bolívar Colombia South America| Casanare Colombia South America| Cundinamarca Colombia South America| Guajira Colombia South America| Magdalena Colombia South America| Norte de Santander Colombia South America| Santander Colombia South America| Valle Colombia South America| Alajuela Costa Rica Central America| Guanacaste Costa Rica Central America| Heredia Costa Rica Central America| Limón Costa Rica Central America| Puntarenas Costa Rica Central America| San José Costa Rica Central America| Cuba South America| Camagüey Cuba South America| La Habana Cuba South America| Isla de Piños Cuba South America| Las Villas Cuba West Indies| Matanzas Cuba South America| Oriente Cuba South America| Piñar del Río Cuba South America| La Libertad El Salvador Central America| San Salvador El Salvador Central America| Alta Verapaz Guatemala Central America| El Progreso Guatemala Central America| Escuintla Guatemala Central America| Petén Guatemala Central America| Quiché Guatemala Central America| Retalhuleu Guatemala Central America| Santa Rosa Guatemala Central America| Suchitepéquez Guatemala Central America| Zacapa Guatemala Central America| Haiti South America| Atlantida Honduras Central America| Colón Honduras Central America| Morazán Honduras Central America| Olancho Honduras Central America| Jamaica South America| Jamaica South America| Jamaica South America| Antigua and Barbuda South America| Campeche Mexico North America| Chiapas Mexico North America| Guerrero Mexico North America| Nayarit Mexico North America| Oaxaca Mexico North America| Mexico North America| Sinaloa Mexico North America| Tabasco Mexico North America| Veracruz Mexico North America| Yucatán Mexico North America| Rivas Nicaragua Central America| Bocas del Toro Panamá Central America| Canal Zone Panamá Central America| Chiriquí Panamá Central America| Darién Panamá Central America| Los Santos Panama Central America| Panamá Panama Central America| San Blás Panamá Central America| Puerto Rico South America| Dominican Republic South America| Aruba South America| Bonaire South America| Curaçao South America| Guadeloupe South America| Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis South America| Saba South America| Saint Barthélemy South America| Saint Croix Virgin Islands of the United States South America| Sint Eustatius South America| Saint Thomas Virgin Islands of the United States South America| Tortola Virgin Islands South America| Dominica South America| Grenada South America| Martinique South America| Saint Lucia South America| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines South America|
Acklins Bahamas South America| Cat Island Bahamas South America| Eleuthera Bahamas South America| Ragged Island Bahamas South America| Bahamas South America| Belize Belize Central America| Cayo Belize Central America| Orange Walk Belize Central America| Toledo Belize Central America| Grand Cayman Cayman Islands South America| Antioquia Colombia South America| Atlántico Colombia South America| Bolívar Colombia South America| Casanare Colombia South America| Cundinamarca Colombia South America| Guajira Colombia South America| Magdalena Colombia South America| Norte de Santander Colombia South America| Santander Colombia South America| Valle Colombia South America| Alajuela Costa Rica Central America| Guanacaste Costa Rica Central America| Heredia Costa Rica Central America| Limón Costa Rica Central America| Puntarenas Costa Rica Central America| San José Costa Rica Central America| Cuba South America| Camagüey Cuba South America| La Habana Cuba South America| Isla de Piños Cuba South America| Las Villas Cuba West Indies| Matanzas Cuba South America| Oriente Cuba South America| Piñar del Río Cuba South America| La Libertad El Salvador Central America| San Salvador El Salvador Central America| Alta Verapaz Guatemala Central America| El Progreso Guatemala Central America| Escuintla Guatemala Central America| Petén Guatemala Central America| Quiché Guatemala Central America| Retalhuleu Guatemala Central America| Santa Rosa Guatemala Central America| Suchitepéquez Guatemala Central America| Zacapa Guatemala Central America| Haiti South America| Atlantida Honduras Central America| Colón Honduras Central America| Morazán Honduras Central America| Olancho Honduras Central America| Jamaica South America| Jamaica South America| Jamaica South America| Antigua and Barbuda South America| Campeche Mexico North America| Chiapas Mexico North America| Guerrero Mexico North America| Nayarit Mexico North America| Oaxaca Mexico North America| Mexico North America| Sinaloa Mexico North America| Tabasco Mexico North America| Veracruz Mexico North America| Yucatán Mexico North America| Rivas Nicaragua Central America| Bocas del Toro Panamá Central America| Canal Zone Panamá Central America| Chiriquí Panamá Central America| Darién Panamá Central America| Los Santos Panama Central America| Panamá Panama Central America| San Blás Panamá Central America| Puerto Rico South America| Dominican Republic South America| Aruba South America| Bonaire South America| Curaçao South America| Guadeloupe South America| Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis South America| Saba South America| Saint Barthélemy South America| Saint Croix Virgin Islands of the United States South America| Sint Eustatius South America| Saint Thomas Virgin Islands of the United States South America| Tortola Virgin Islands South America| Dominica South America| Grenada South America| Martinique South America| Saint Lucia South America| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines South America|
Common Names:
calabash, wild calabash, tree calabash, calebassier, kalabash, calbas, calbas rondo, callebasse longue, callebasse coricon, callebasse boite, güira, güira del monte, calabasa, higüera, higüero, tecomate, ayale, cerial, cirian mazo, hoco, luch, huaz, jicara, jícaro, Morro, Kabami, jícaro, totumo, totumo, totumo cimarron, totuma, tapara, mate, pilche, pilchimate, totuma, totumo, tsapa, huingo, pati, sacha huingo, buhango, cueira, cuia, porobamba
calabash, wild calabash, tree calabash, calebassier, kalabash, calbas, calbas rondo, callebasse longue, callebasse coricon, callebasse boite, güira, güira del monte, calabasa, higüera, higüero, tecomate, ayale, cerial, cirian mazo, hoco, luch, huaz, jicara, jícaro, Morro, Kabami, jícaro, totumo, totumo, totumo cimarron, totuma, tapara, mate, pilche, pilchimate, totuma, totumo, tsapa, huingo, pati, sacha huingo, buhango, cueira, cuia, porobamba