In that time, we’ve selectively bred the bumpy little dickens for all sorts of purposes. Scientists have found evidence that humans have been cozying up to gourds for at least 8,000 years. states.Īnd that’s not even the half of it. It’s tempting to think of our ornamental gourd obsession as a fad, like pumpkin spice lattes or puffy down vests, but Americans have been geeking out over gourds since at least 1937, when the first chapter of the American Gourd Society was established in North Carolina. Though their flesh be adamant and their seeds bitter, thousands of decor enthusiasts will flock to the farm to pick out gourds for arrangements spilling out of wicker baskets or piled on dining table centerpieces.īut before the gourd became the unofficial, freaky flower of fall, the hard-nosed fruits enjoyed a rich history. One seed supplier even champions something called a “blister gourd” as being “larger and more warted” than lesser, more symmetrical varieties.Īs the leaves turn to tints of reddish-orange, it’s time to trek to farmers’ markets and pumpkin patches to bring home the knobbiest, knurliest and gnarliest Cucurbit fruits you can find-that’s right, it’s decorative gourd season once again, folks. Blemishes are boons in many Cucurbit fruits, and when it comes to gourds, the funkier they come, the more we cherish them. You’d probably be inclined to kill it with fire, or at least condemn it to the compost.īut if that fruit were a species of Cucurbitaceae-the gourd family-you might have an entirely different reaction, proudly displaying the knotty, mutated produce on a console table in your foyer. Imagine you open up a CSA box-a kit of produce from community supported agriculture-only to find an apple covered in ashen warts.
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