Lagenaria siceraria

Bottle gourd, Calabash gourd, White-flowered gourd,

Message of the Flower

Emotional Abundance

The Mother’s Comment

Good feelings that gives themselves unstintingly.

Spiritual Message by the Mother/ Quotes by Sri Aurobindo

Emotion is an excellent and indispensable thing in human nature, in spite of all its shortcomings and dangers… But our aim is to go beyond mental ideas into the light of the supramental Truth, which exists not by ideative thought but by direct vision and identity. In the same way our aim is to go beyond emotion to the height and depth and intensity of the Divine Love and there feel through the inner psychic heart an inexhaustible oneness with the Divine which the spasmodic leapings of the vital emotions cannot reach or experience.

Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - II: Divine Love, Psychic Love and Human Love

Emotion is a good element in Yoga; but emotional desire becomes easily a cause of perturbation and an obstacle.

Turn your emotions towards the Divine, aspire for their purification; they will then become a help on the way and no longer a cause of suffering.

Not to kill emotion, but to turn it towards the Divine is the right way of the Yoga.

But it must become pure, founded upon spiritual peace and joy, capable of being transmuted into Ananda. Equality and calm in the mind and vital parts, an intense psychic emotion in the heart can perfectly go together.

Awake by your aspiration the psychic fire in the heart that burns steadily towards the Divine—that is the one way to liberate and fulfil the emotional nature.

Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga - II: Bhakti, Devotion, Worship

Colour

White flowers

Family

Cucurbitaceae

Cultivars

Bushel', 'Birdhouse', 'Dipper', 'Kettle', 'Long-Handled Dipper'

Person who named the flower

Carl Linnaeus

Flower Size

About 2-3 inches across

Flower Texture

Soft, delicate

Number of Petals

Five

Floral Symmetry

Radial

Fragrance of Flower

Mildly fragrant, especially in the evening

Leaf Texture

Rough, hairy

Leaf Arrangement

Alternate

Leaf Color

Green

Structural Variation (Shrub or Tree)

Climbing or sprawling vine

Life Cycle

Annual

Blooming Period

Summer

Climate

Warm, temperate to tropical climates

Water Requirements

Moderate; requires regular watering

Soil Type

Well-drained, fertile soil

Temperature Ranges

Prefers warm temperatures; not frost-tolerant

Sun or Shade

Full sun

Susceptibility to Insects and Diseases

common gourd pests like cucumber beetles, prone to fungal diseases in humid conditions

Pollinators

Attracted by bees, particularly at night

Habitat

Originally from Africa; now cultivated worldwide in suitable climates

Role in the Ecosystem

Provides food for pollinators; fruits used by various wildlife

Ornamental

Rarely grown for ornamental purposes

Uses in Other Aspects of Life

Extensively used in crafts, storage, and music, as well as in gardening for its edible fruits

Endangered Status

Not endangered; widely cultivated