PLANT of the MONTH   ~~   JULY, 2007
updated on or about the 1st of each month

CALABAZILLA Common Name(s): Calabazilla, Stinking Gourd, Gourd, Buffalo Gourd, Calabasillo Scientific Name: Cucurbita foetidissima Family: Cucurbitaceae Plant Type: Perennial vine Size: spreading to 15-25 feet Common Habitat: Sandy soil

Calabazilla takes its common name from the spanish word for the squash plant, calabaza. Like our garden squash and other gourds, calabazilla has long trailing vines that branch out widely. The large, bright yellow flowers appear in both sexes on the same plant, with the male flowers being more showy and larger and the female flowers giving way to the gourd that follows. The odorous foliage, flower and gourd are covered in hairs. The leaves are quite large, up to 10 inches long, grayish blue and triangle-shaped. The male flowers are bell-shaped with 5 sepals and are up to 5 inches long. It blooms throughout the summer, from May through September. The gourd is inedible, about 4 inches in diameter, and smooth and green with white stripes.

You may recall another species of the gourd family featured in this Plant of the Month page a few months back, Wild Cucumber (Marah mmacrocarpus). In addition to the viney appearance, both plants share in common a very large root.

Native people found several uses for this plant, including using the root or pulp for curing skin ailments, the fruit as a soap, and the hull of the gourd for anything from rattles to utensils.

Contributed by Liz Baumann

ARCHIVES of past Plants of the Month:
June 2007: Speckled Clarkia (Clarkia cylindrica)
May 2007: Prickly Poppy (Argemone munita)
April 2007: Wild Cucumber (Marah macrocarpus)
March 2007: Large-Flowered Phacelia (Phacelia grandiflora)
February 2007: Chaparral Currant (Ribes malvaceum)
January 2007: Tree Tobacco (Nicotiana glauca)
December 2006: Poison Oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum)
November 2006: Sycamore (Platanus racemosa)
October 2006: Cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium)
September 2006: Vinegar Weed (Trichostema Lanceolatum)
August 2006: Lemonade Berry (Rhus integrifolia)
July 2006: Woolly Blue Curls (Trichostema lanatum)
June 2006: Yucca (Yucca whipplei)
May 2006: Monkey Flower (Mimulus Species)
April 2006: Lupine (Lupinus Species)
March 2006: Ceanothus (Ceanothus Species)
February 2006: Wild Peony (Paeonia californica)
January 2006: Purple Nightshade (Solanum xanti)
December 2005: Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia)

REFERENCES:
Wildflowers of the Santa Monica Mountains, by Milt McAuley - link to Amazon.com
Flowering Plants: The Santa Monica Mountains, Coastal and Chaparral Regions of Southern California, by Nancy Dale - link to Amazon.com
Roadside Plants of Southern California, by Thomas J. Belzer - link to Amazon.com
California Native Plants for the Garden, by Carol Bornstein, David Fross, and Bart O'Brien - link to Amazon.com