The first horticultural propagated from seed in New Zealand: siceraria Mike Burtenshaw1

(Maingay, 1985). Wenewene and names for water containers. Introduction kowenewene are other names used on the East Coast of the North Island The gourd is honoured in M ori myth Amongst the that the first (Best, 1976). In contemporary usage with a personified form or parent, Polynesians to settle New Zealand I have heard the name tah also P -t hue, who was one of the over 1000 years ago brought with applied to the of the plant. This offspring of Tane. P -t hue remarked them, was a member of the family derives from the names for water “The seeds within me shall provide . Most food plants that storage gourd (tah wai) and water vessels for my descendents, survived translocation from their containers for preserved meat (tah some of those seeds are of the male tropical home into our temperate huahua). Originally the word tah sex and will not bear fruit” (Best, climate are propagated using was applied to a gourd with a narrow 1976, p.245). vegetative methods. The most mouth (Maingay, 1985). important of these food plants were The description by Colenso (1880, the k mara (Ipomoea batatas) and pp.15-16) of hue provides an taro (Colocasia esculentum), with two excellent summary of the plant, its others, the yam (Dioscorea elata) and cultivation and use in Aotearoa and ti pore (Cordyline terminalis), is worthy of repeating in full as most providing minor sources of plant subsequent writers on the subject, food. The lone cucurbit, the first plant including Elsdon Best, refer to it: ever propagated from seed by people in New Zealand soils, was the bottle “The third food plant cultivated by gourd, Lagenaria siceraria. them [M ori] was a fine one of the gourd family, called by them the hue. My interest in bottle began This noble and highly useful plant when two colleagues and I were was annually raised from seed, and asked to assist in locating plant was their only one so propagated: materials that might be used for the and, curiously enough, of this plant, reconstruction of the Makotukutuku though yielding seed in great plenty, Wharepuni at Te Papa (Burtenshaw there was only one species and no et al., 1999). I was interested in the varieties. Its seeds, before sowing, fact that the original wharepuni were wrapped in a few dry fern (sleeping house) in the Makotukutuku fronds, (Pteris [Pteridium] esculenta), Valley was home to pre-European and steeped in running water for a M ori gardeners. As a horticulturist, Rampant growth of L. siceraria 'Italian Edible' in the author’s garden. few days. It was to them of great I was interested in what these people service, furnishing not only a prized were growing there. Foss Leach Ngai Tahu legend tells how the and wholesome vegetable food (or (1979), whose archaeological team Moeraki boulders (Te Kai Hinaki) are rather fruit) during the whole of the excavated the wharepuni site and the round food baskets and gourd hot summer days while it lasted, and one of the garden mounds in the water containers from the great before their kumara were ripe for use, garden area, reported that k mara canoe Arai Te Uru that foundered in but was also of great use in many and gourds were grown in the garden a storm near Matakaea (Shag Point). other ways. It was always a pleasing area, and that the stone mounds Irregular shaped rocks further south sight to see it growing in a suitable were used specifically for gourd on Katiki Beach are described as soil, as it grew fast and looked so cultivation. k mara that also washed ashore from remarkably healthy with its numerous the canoe (Anderson, 1998). Waitah leaves, large white flowers and fruit, As in Eastern Polynesian, hue (the water carriers), one of the first the latter often of all sizes, from that (pronounced hoo–e) is the M ori iwi to inhabit the South Island, share of a cricket ball up to that of a name for bottle gourd although ipu their name with one of the M ori globular, pear-shaped, or spheroidal is the more common name in Hawaii

1 The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, Natural Resources Centre, Te Wahanga Matauranga Rawa Whenua, Private Bag 31914, Lower Hutt; [email protected]

10 New Zealand Garden Journal, 2003, Vol.6 (1) were always prized and taken great Cucurbitoideae, tribe care of, sometimes they were named and the sub-tribe Benincasinae and some lasted a whole generation (Figure 1). Other species within this or longer, and were handed down as sub-tribe include the wax-gourd heirlooms.” (Benincasa hispida), ( lanatus), poisonous gourd Best (1976) reports that M ori in the ( palmatus), squirting- Bay of Plenty state that the gourd cucumber ( elaterium), was introduced to Aotearoa long angled loofah ( acutangula) and before k mara and taro, and smooth loofah (L. aegyptiaca). postulates this may well be a fact because seed might more easily There are five other species in the survive long ocean voyages. genus Lagenaria that grow wild in Africa. These other species are tropical perennials, have a much thinner shell and are not usually used as containers. Heiser conducted trials with three of these species (L. abyssinica, L. sphaerica and L. brevifolia) and produced hybrids with A gourd nearing maturity hanging from a supporting trellis. L. siceraria that produced vigorous but infertile plants. The hybrids figure, capable of holding several produced only male flowers with no gallons. As an article of food it was pollen (Heiser, 1979). only used when young, and always cooked – baked like the kumara and The fact that the other five species taro, in their common earth-oven – of Lagenaria are all African is the and eaten, like them, both hot and main evidence that L. siceraria cold. Prodigious numbers of them originated in Africa. This follows were formerly daily consumed in the Vavilov’s theory that the centre of summer season. It was from this origin of a plant is to be found where plant that the Maoris obtained all it exhibits greatest diversity (Vavilov, their useful vessels, for holding water, 1928). However, this principle has oils, cooked animal food, etc. This been rejected by later was done by carefully drying and biogeographers (Cain, 1944; Croizat hardening the fully mature with A range of gourds of different shapes and et al.,1974; Nelson and Platnick, the heat of the sun and fire, and just sizes curing on drying racks. 1981). as carefully scooping out all the contents, through a small hole made Taxonomy There are two recognised subspecies near the stalk end. In the very small of L. siceraria (Table 1) (Kobiakova, calabashes so made, they kept their The bottle gourd or hard-shelled 1930; Heiser, 1973). Heiser produced perfumed oils, and rouge, for gourd has the Latin binomial the most recent classification of anointing; of the medium sized and Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standley. subspecies based on morphological large ones they made useful dishes, This combination was first published differences in leaves, flowers and and all their common water in 1930 and the basionym is seeds. He dispensed with calabashes. While the few very siceraria Molina (1782). Kobiakova’s use of fruit shape and largest were neatly manufactured Lagenaria comes from the Greek fruit colour characters because in into pots for holding preserved and lagenos and Latin lagena for “bottle” his experience a wide range of fruit potted birds. For this purpose the and siceraria from the Latin, sicera shape and colour occurs stalk end was cut off, and it was meaning “drinking vessel”. It has independent of subspecies. The ingeniously fitted with a hollow numerous vernacular names, most subspecies L. siceraria ssp. siceraria cylindrical neck of carved hard wood, of which relate to cultivar differences is found mainly in Africa and the cut out of one piece, and always in the shape of the fruit. Common Americas. It has leaves with generally made large enough to admit a man’s names include white-flowered gourd, smooth or unruffled margins, unlobed hand through it; this was firmly fixed calabash gourd, the names given or rounded-lobed; flowers small to on above, while below, the rotund below in the section on folk medium-sized; sepals or calyx lobes vase was also fitted with three (or taxonomies and many others. short and broad; and seeds usually four) legs to stand on, and to keep dark in colour and less than twice it off the ground. These big vessels Following Jeffrey (1990), Lagenaria as long as broad. The Asian belongs in the subfamily

New Zealand Garden Journal, 2003, Vol.6 (1) 11 subspecies (L. siceraria ssp. asiatica) handled dipper, mid-sized dipper, has leaves that are somewhat saw- Folk taxonomies extra-long handled dipper, club toothed on the margins and sharply and Maranka. M ori consider hue to be a single three to five lobed; larger flowers 4. Trough/Siphon/Snake type, variety but have different names for than in the other subspecies, with including banana, snake and the different sizes and shapes of the long slender calyx lobes; and light zucca. fruit. Best (1976) listed thirteen coloured seeds that are usually more different names M ori used to than twice as long as broad. There This popular classification system is describe different sizes and shapes has been no authoritative useful for those who grow, trade and of the fruit. This is a logical method investigation as to the subspecies craft gourd fruit, but ignores floral or of categorising a plant whose fruit that occurs in Eastern Polynesia, foliage differences used in botanical are so varied and is still the New Zealand and Oceania in general, taxonomy. Some genes or alleles contemporary vernacular way of although the genetic fingerprinting responsible for different fruit shapes distinguishing bottle gourds. research mentioned below may well have been identified. Under the Classification based on fruit provide an answer to this question. conventions of the International Code morphology is typical of folk of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants taxonomies associated with L. Lagenaria siceraria has medium sized (also known as the ICNCP or siceraria in other countries. chromosomes with mostly median Cultivated Plant Code) (Trehane et centromeres, but three pairs have al., 1995), each of the named fruit Fruit shape is not reliable for secondary constrictions (Singh, shapes within each type, such as scientifically classifying L. siceraria 1990). Somatic studies from India “Club” and “Maranka”, are separate into botanical subspecies. Heiser give a base gametic chromosome cultivars because self-fertilised (1973) found the shape of the fruit number of x = 11. The eleven pairs offspring produce the same shaped appeared to be equally diverse in all of chromosomes or 2x = 2n = 22 fruit as the parent. areas of the world except with some, chromosome number occurs in both such as the Maranka, a fruit form Asian and African subspecies originating in Africa. However, among (Maingay, 1985). It has been Cultivation and contemporary gourd growers and postulated that present forms of artists it is fruit shape that is the main description Lagenaria may be secondary character by which gourds are polyploids that evolved from an distinguished. There is a relationship Being a tropical plant and an annual ancestor with base numbers x = 5, between seed size and fruit size, with with a long growing season, hue as 5 + 5 +1 = 11 (Verghese, 1971). larger seed usually producing large required skilled cultivation by M ori sized gourds. A long-time gourd in order to produce mature fruit for A number of genes expressing grower and artist says that fruit shape useable vessels. Seeds were soaked characters such as pest resistance, can also often be anticipated from in water and sown at the correct fruit shape and fruit colour have been the shape of the seed (Polglaze, pers. phase of the moon in a humus-filled described for L. siceraria (Cucurbit comm.). basket. This was placed in the Genetics Cooperative, 1979). ground near a fire or kept warm with Research continues in India and A good example of a modern folk hot stones to promote early China where the plant is still used as taxonomy is the American Gourd germination. Young plants were set a food crop, but the focus tends to Society’s attempt to standardise the out in small hollows, often with small be on cucurbits as a group and the names of the more familiar shaped stones around them to store heat bottle gourd is usually included only gourd fruit (American Gourd Society, from the sun. Once established, coincidentally (Singh, 1990). Genetic 2003). The Society has proposed plants were earthed up and fertiliser engineering introducing DNA from four main fruit shape types, with in the form of wood ash was added bottle gourd into watermelon has common descriptive names for gourd to the soil around them. resulted in changes to skin colour, shapes within each main type: fruit shape and seed colour (Xiao et A 5-6 month warm growing period al., 1999). 1. Basket type, including is required for fruit to mature fully. cannonball, basketball, tobacco This has been a problem for me in Genetic analysis conducted by box, canteen, bushel basket, Lower Hutt over the 2000/2001 and Andrew Clarke of the Allan Wilson Japanese basket and 2001/2002 growing seasons. During Centre for Molecular Ecology and Acoma/Hopi rattle. the spring and early summer seasons Evolution at Massey University, has 2. Bottle type, including miniature an unusual succession of cool produced promising results, bottle, martin house, penguin or southerlies kept temperatures down discovering genetic markers that can powder horn, Indonesian, lump- and my plants established slowly. be used to determine differences at in-neck, hardshell wartie and Without rapid early establishment the cultivar level (A. Clarke, pers. Chinese bottle. bottle gourd does not produce a comm.). This work is currently in 3. Dipper type, including short- good crop of mature fruit. progress.

12 New Zealand Garden Journal, 2003, Vol.6 (1) Leave the gourds attached to the is wide spreading. The roots are white smell. Extra-floral nectaries are vine until the fruit stem turns brown. to pale cream, and smooth and generally regarded as a primitive Even after most of the leaf has died circular in cross-section. The taproot pollination feature that function to the fruit may still be maturing if the can penetrate down to 60-80cm, but attract beetles and other insects that fruit stalk is green. After harvest you the bulk of the root system spreads swarm over the plant to feed, need to store the gourds out of the out and inhabits the topsoil (15- incidentally carrying pollen from the weather for another six months to 30cm, depending on soil depth). In staminate to pistillate flowers. Heiser allow for “curing”. The outer green a friable soil one would expect the (1979) showed beetles to be epidermis will decay and the gourd root spread and mass to at least responsible for most of the pollination will lose 90% of its weight as water match those of the top growth, as of gourds he grew. It has been evaporates from the fruit. You will for most cucurbits (Weaver and suggested that these glands and hear the seeds rattling inside when Bruner, 1927). I have found no glandules may also have a role in your gourd is fully dry. At this stage reference to mycorrhizal fungi secreting substances, such as the remnants of the epidermis can associated with L. siceraria roots. cucurbitacins, that deter mammalian be washed and brushed from the herbivores from eating the plant hard shell. Botanical (Metcalf and Rhodes, 1990). In a fertile garden soil and given a description warm temperate to subtropical climate, a bottle gourd plant will The Lagenaria vine stem is deeply spread over a considerable area. grooved and angular (weakly five- This makes it a difficult subject for sided) in cross-section. There are research trials as it requires a large five longitudinal ridges which are area to grow a range of cultivars. The deep on the main (1-3cm thick) climbing vine will grow up and over stems, but smooth out toward the any structure or tree in its way. growing tips where the stems are 1cm thick. The stems are softly The first plants I grew in 1998 of a pubescent with jointed, gland-tipped cultivar of the Asian subspecies, L. hairs. The main stem branches out siceraria 'Italian Edible', had covered to 5-6 main laterals. a medium sized grapefruit tree and an adjacent raspberry enclosure by Leaves are simple, heart shaped or February. Growth was more vigorous 3-5 lobed. The leaf base is cordate than that of pumpkin (Cucurbita to sagittate, and the leaf tip generally pepo) I have grown, but plants can acuminate. The leaf veins have five be trained up a sturdy trellis. Fruit main laterals arising palmately from formed hanging down from a trellis the attachment of the petiole. The will produce a straight neck gourd, first few leaves emerging after the whereas fruit that set on the soil seed leaves are often irregular in The white flowers of the bottle gourd open in surface will often have a bent neck shape. Given optimum growing the evening. producing a fruit with a more conditions mature leaves range in interesting appearance. On average, size from 10-30cm in length and 8- The tendrils are modified leaves and 2 each plant spreads over 25m . Other 35cm in width. The edges are entire they arise from the leaf axils. The people have recorded similar growth or irregularly dentate (mostly with the tendrils are bifid and assist the plant spread (Maingay, 1985). Once several African subspecies) to strongly to attach itself for climbing. They are plants grown in close proximity, start serrated (more common in the Asian very strong and easily support heavy to spread and intertwine it is difficult subspecies). The leaf surface is gourds. One type of New Zealand to track the stem of individual plants. covered in dense soft hairs gourd has been observed to produce My plants of 'Italian Edible' grown in (pubescent) and the foliage has a 3 or 4 tendrils from each leaf axil 1998 had a main stem that measured strong musky odour. (Maingay, 1985). more than 30m long at the end of the growing season. Adventitious A distinctive feature of all species of The flowers are solitary and borne roots are also produced at the nodes Lagenaria is the presence of two on long peduncles arising from the particularly when these touch the pore-like glands at the junction of leaf axils. Peduncles are usually soil. There is variation in vigour, with the leaf and petiole (Heiser, 1979). solitary in leaf axils but are quite often smaller fruiting gourds tending to be These extra-floral nectaries and paired. The bottle gourd is usually less vigorous (Heiser, 1979). glandular leaf teeth are common in monoecious although it is sometimes members of the Cucurbitaceae, and described as being dioecious Like the vine shoot, the root system are the source of a persistent musky (Chakravarty, 1990).

New Zealand Garden Journal, 2003, Vol.6 (1) 13 Occasional unisexual plants can be female flowers was observed by green to dark green, and with striping produced, although I have never Maingay (1985). Male flowers of different shades of green on some observed this. Hermaphrodite flowers generally appear several days before cultivars. Kobiakova (1930) used with both stamens and ovaries as female flowers, and the ratio will fruit colour as a character difference well as flowers with 4 or 6 petals change somewhat through the between the subspecies, with dark have been reported (Maingay, 1985). flowering season. green being more prevalent in the Maingay suggests this may have African/American subspecies and been an aberrant polyploid form, but Lagenaria siceraria seed displays a pale greens in the Asian. The again, I have not observed this in the wide range of morphological variation distinctive ridged Maranka or dolphin six years I have been growing bottle and this variation is important for cultivar, which has a dark green fruit gourds. distinguishing subspecies. The colour colour when fresh, is African in origin of the seed coat varies between and exhibits leaf, floral and seed The staminate flowers are carried on cultivars. Colour ranges from a shade characters typical of L. siceraria ssp. peduncles 10-35cm long and 3-5mm of pale yellow or white, to brown siceraria. thick. The flowers are held above the through to dark reddish brown, with foliage and present a spectacular darkest colours being more prevalent sight on a midsummer evening. The in L. siceraria ssp. siceraria. Maingay Conclusion five petals join to form a bell-shaped (1985) utilised Munsell Soil Colour corolla that is united with the calyx Chart (1990) soil colours to describe All horticultural plants have their story to form a perianth tube. The calyx seed coat colours to good effect. and the full story of how people used lobes alternate with the petals. These Lagenaria siceraria in Aotearoa, the sepals can vary in length, width and Presence and absence of ears at the rest of Polynesia and throughout the apices. They can sometimes be proximal end of the seed is another world requires many more words. almost leaf-like in appearance. The distinguishing character. Seeds of For a fascinating account of the calyx edges also have glandules some of the African types lack ears, plant’s history I recommend Heiser’s along them. The petals are obovate but have side wings instead. The The Gourd Book (1979), but for now with finely undulate margins. Their seed surface also has lines or tracks I will conclude this article by apices vary from blunt to acute, and which may be almost absent, summarising the gourd’s main uses are fringed to entire. A dense prominent, or densely pubescent. by M ori in New Zealand. pubescence is longer toward the The width and length of seed varies mid-rib of each petal. The corolla between cultivars and the seed The first plant propagated from seed can vary in diameter from 5-14cm, index, the ratio of seed width divided by people in New Zealand was with the Asian subspecies generally by seed length, is an important valued as a food plant. The young producing larger flowers in the 7- character for distinguishing fruit resemble a hairy zucchini and 14cm range, while the subspecies. were cooked in hangi. However, it African/American subspecies are also provided M ori with a wide within the 5-12cm range. Staminate Lagenaria siceraria has epigeal range of containers, floats, musical flowers have 5 stamens. Two pairs germination where the cotyledons instruments, tops and masks. are fused forming two double-lobed emerge above the seed sowing While the Lapita Culture brought compound stamens and the medium before the foliage leaves pottery to Western Polynesia, by the remaining one is single. A nectary, develop. A soil temperature of 15 to time the latter wave of Polynesian which is found only in staminate 20° C is required for optimum migrants reached Eastern Polynesia flowers, is located at the base of the germination but some cultivars, in islands, where sources of suitable stamens at the bottom of the perianth particular the “New Zealand clay were in short supply, pottery tube. cultivars”, seem to germinate at lower making techniques were forgotten. temperatures. This may be an Hence the importance of a plant that The pistillate flowers are quite distinct adaptive character worthy of further could annually produce a range of from the staminate flowers with the investigation. different sized containers. inferior ovary showing potential fruit shape early. The interior of the ovary Botanically, the fruit is a pepo or The most well known M ori is divided into 3 locules. The single inferior berry. The size and the shape containers were the water storage short style terminates in 3 thick bi- of fruit vary tremendously between gourd (tah wai) and containers for lobed stigmas. The peduncles of cultivars. One Japanese cultivar I preserved meat (tah huahua). The pistillate flowers are shorter and grew, L. siceraria var. macrocarpa, hard shells of the mature fruit were thicker than those in staminate produced a mature fruit 50mm long also used for food bowls, ritual flowers, from 2-16cm long and 4- by 30mm wide, but spherical shaped containers, floats for fishing nets and 6mm wide. fruit can be up to 2m wide and snake to help children to learn to swim, type fruit can be 3m long. The colour musical instruments, spinning tops A ratio of at least 5:1 of male to of the fruit can vary from pale or light and masks. Although I have seen no direct reference to their use as bailing

14 New Zealand Garden Journal, 2003, Vol.6 (1) instruments during canoe trips, this used as the resonating chamber of I have come a long way since taking does seem an obvious use. Medium the sitar and other musical an interest in the hue that M ori sized gourds that would fit over the instruments. M ori use hue to make gardeners once grew in the head were occasionally used as flutes and bullroarers. Bullroarers Makotukutuku Valley. There is much masks in the same manner as other were made by firmly attaching a cord more to tell, particularly about the Polynesian peoples. through the neck of a smaller gourd ethnobotany of the bottle gourd. For drilled with one or two holes. The now it is enough to record for our The excellent resonating properties gourd was whirled through the air on horticultural history, the fact that of the dried gourd shell is well known the end of the cord to create a roaring Lagenaria siceraria was the first plant from Africa where it is used for a sound. Dried gourds filled with people propagated from seed in range of flutes, drums and stringed pebbles were also used as rattles by Aotearoa. instruments to India where they are children.

Table 1. Summary of morphological differences between Lagenaria siceraria subspecies.

Character Lagenaria siceraria ssp. siceraria Lagenaria siceraria ssp. asiatica

Leaf Smooth or unruffled margins, not lobed Saw-toothed on the margins and or rounded-lobed sharply three- to five-lobed

Flower Corolla diameter 50-120mm; sepals or Corolla diameter 70-140mm; long calyx lobes short and broad slender calyx lobes

Seed Usually dark in colour, less than twice Light coloured, usually more than twice as long as broad as long as broad

Origin range Africa and the Americas Mainly Asia

Figure 1. Taxonomic relationships of L. siceraria

FAMILY Cucurbitaceae

SUBFAMILY Cucurbitoideae

TRIBE Benincaseae

GENUS Lagenaria Benincasa Citrullus Luffa

SPECIES L. siceraria L. sphaerica L. brevifolia L. abyssinica L. guineensis L. rufa

SUB - SPECIES L. siceraria L. siceraria ssp. siceraria ssp. asiatica

New Zealand Garden Journal, 2003, Vol.6 (1) 15 References American Gourd Society (2003). Information retrievable [31 July] from http://www.americangourdsociety.org/FAQ/types/chart.html. Anderson, A. (1998). The Welcome of Strangers. University of Otago Press, Dunedin. Best, E. (1976). Maori Agriculture. Government Printer, Wellington. Burtenshaw, M., Harris, G., Lucas, R. and Te Whaiti, H. (1999). Locating Plant Materials for the Reconstruction of the Makotukutuku Wharepuni. Working Paper. The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, Wellington. Cain, S.A. (1944). Foundations of Plant Geography. Harper, New York. Chakravarty, H.L. (1990). Cucurbits of India and their role in the development of vegetable crops. In: Bates, D.M., Robinson, R.W. and Jeffrey, C. eds. Biology and the utilisation of the Cucurbitaceae. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY. Pp. 325-334. Colenso, W. (1880). On the vegetable food of the ancient New Zealanders before Cook’s visit. Transactions of the New Zealand Institute 15-16. Croizat, L., Nelson, G. and Rosen, D.E. (1974). Centers of origin and related concepts. Systematic Zoology 23: 265-287. Cucurbit Genetics Cooperative (1979). Cucumber ( sativus). Report No. 2. University of Wisconsin, Madison. Heiser, C.B. (1973). Variation in the bottle gourd. In: Meggers, B., Ayensu, E. and Duckworth, W. eds. Tropical Forest Ecosystems in Africa and South America: A Comparative Review. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington. Pp. 121-128. Heiser, C.B. (1979). The Gourd Book. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma. Jeffrey, C. (1990). An outline classification of the Cucurbitaceae. In: Bates, D.M., Robinson, R.W. and Jeffrey, C. eds. Biology and the Utilisation of the Cucurbitaceae. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY. Pp. 449-463. Kobiakova, J.A. (1930). The bottle gourd. Bulletin of Applied Botany, Genetics and Plant Breeding 23: 475-520. Leach, B.F. (1979). Excavations in the Washpool Valley. In: Leach, B.F. and Leach, H.M. eds. Prehistoric Man in Palliser Bay. Bulletin 21. National Museum of New Zealand, Wellington. Maingay, J. (1985). Te Hue: Plant and People. Unpublished MA thesis, University of Auckland. Metcalf, R.L. and Rhodes, A.M. (1990). Coevolution of the Cucurbitaceae and Luperini (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae): Basic and applied aspects. In: Bates, D.M., Robinson, R.W. and Jeffrey, C. eds. Biology and the Utilisation of the Cucurbitaceae. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY. Pp. 167-182. Munsell Soil Color Charts (1990). Kollmorgan Instruments Corporation, Baltimore. Nelson, G. and Platnick, N. (1981). Systematics and Biogeography: Cladistics and Vicariance. Columbia University Press, New York. Singh, A.K. (1990). Cytogenetics and evolution in the Cucurbitaceae. In: Bates, D.M., Robinson, R.W. and Jeffrey, C. eds. Biology and the Utilisation of the Cucurbitaceae. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY. Pp. 10-28. Trehane, P., Brickell, C.D., Baum, B.R., Hetterscheid, W.L.A., Leslie, A.C., McNeill, J., Spongberg, S.A. and Vrugtman, F. (1995). International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants. Koeltz Scientific Books. Koenigstein, Germany. Vavilov, N.J. (1928). Geographische Genzentren unsurer Kulturpflanzen. Zeitschrift fur Induktive Abstammungs und Vererbungslehre, Supplement 1. Pp. 342-369. Verghese, B.M. (1971). Cytology and origin of tetraploid Trichosanthe palmate Roxb. Genetica 42: 292-302. Weaver, J.E. and Bruner, W.E. (1927). Root Development of Vegetable Crops. McGraw-Hill, New York. Xiao, G.H., Wu, D.X., Liu, J.X., Zheng, S.Q. and Wang S.W. (1999). Variations in the characters of watermelon offspring induced by exogenous bottle gourd DNA introduction. Hunan Agricultural Research Newsletter 6: 5-9.

Mike Burtenshaw is a Senior Lecturer research activities include an in the Natural Resources Centre at experimental archaeology project the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, cultivating pre-European kumara to where he teaches horticulture and assess yield for effort, and general environment papers as well as a new research into ethnobotany. Mike is ethnobotany paper. He is currently keen to obtain seed of or information researching the history and about Maori, Polynesian, New contemporary cultivation of Lagenaria Guinean, South-East Asian, and South siceraria in New Zealand. Other American gourds of ethnic origin.

16 New Zealand Garden Journal, 2003, Vol.6 (1)