Crescentia cujete

Crescentia cujete
Fruiting branches, and showing bowl made of the hard rind of a fruit of that tree (Koutiala District, Mali, September 2014)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Bignoniaceae
Genus: Crescentia
Species:
C. cujete
Binomial name
Crescentia cujete

Crescentia cujete, commonly known as the calabash tree, is a species of flowering plant a medium size tree in the trumpet vine family Bignoniaceae native to the Americas, and which is grown in Africa, Southeast Asia, Central America, South America, the West Indies and extreme southern Florida. It is the national tree of St. Lucia. It is a dicotyledonous plant with simple leaves, which are alternate or in fascicles (clusters) on short shoots. Its very useful fruit is up to 30 cm (12 in) long by 25 cm (9.8 in) wide. According to Bailey it can occasionally be 45–50 cm (18–20 in) wide. It is naturalized in India. The tree shares its common name with that of the vine calabash, or bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria).

In Cuba, this tree is known to grow in both disturbed habitat and areas of poor drainage. It can grow up to 10 m (33 ft) tall.