Gourd Descriptions and Names

Carolina Gourds and Seeds
259 Fletcher Ave, Fuquay Varina, North Carolina 27526  (919-557-5946)


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Types of Gourds

In the United States, you will find three basic botanical types of gourds: Hardshells, Ornamentals, and Luffas. Although Carolina Gourds and Seeds has quite an extensive and amazing selection of these three groups of gourds to choose from, we do not have them all each year. Please check out our Gourd Page to see what we have in stock and to place your order form.  You might also want to look at our gourd family chart chart and our gourd shape chart.

Hardshell Gourds

Hardshell gourds are Lagenaria siceraria. Their white flowers open as the day cools to evening and close the next morning. As the common name, hardshell, suggests, their woody shells are hard--ranging up to more than an inch thick when the growing season is long enough. On the vine, the developing hardshell is green, sometimes mottled with light and dark stripes. Dried, they are brown or tan. Hardshells will last thousands of years--they have been found in the pyramids in Egypt and in caves high in the Andes. Gourds get their names from their traditional uses or their shapes. Hardshells all cross-pollinate with all other hardshells, so their shapes are infinitely variable.

The names listed here are what most growers use. But different growers sometimes use the same name for different shapes, and a Lumbee Indian grower in southeastern North Carolina may use a name different from a New Englander. U.S. growers may use familiar names for similar gourds grown in different countries. So we have Mexican bottles, Indonesian bottles, Japanese bottles and more. The differences may be small--or even not apparent to see. Gardeners have grown dippers in many places because dippers are so useful. Each kind may, however, be very different because of growing conditions. Finally, gourd varieties from far away are immigrating to the United States. So new gourds and new names are moving into our gardens at various times.

Ornamental Gourds

Ornamental gourds are Cucurbita pepo variety ovifera, members of the same plant family as many squash. Their day-blooming yellow flowers look like zucchini or summer squash blossoms. Today, ornamentals are grown largely for their bright colors, which rarely last after drying. Some gourd growers call them "softshells" because their shells are much thinner than hardshells. Properly harvested and cured, they can make attractive, if less sturdy, craft items.

Ornamentals, too, will cross pollinate--not just with other ornamental gourds, but with some varieties of squash and with some pumpkins and other such members of the Cucurbita family. Because of this, most growers get seed from professional seedsmen like myself who hand pollinate or field isolate gourds for growing a specific variety. So with ornamentals, the names listed are those used by professional growers. The sizes described are approximate because so much depends on the growing season--good, bad and location.

Luffa Gourds

Two kinds of luffa gourd, "dishrag" gourd, or vegetable sponge, are widely grown in the United States. Many luffas are mixtures of the two varieties. Their large, bright yellow flowers last out the day. A miniature version is less widely grown but are quite charming for a variety of craft projects or as small sponges in your bath. Luffas are quite delicious when picked young. They are a traditional vegetable in both European and Asian countries even today.

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