''Crescentia alata'', variously called Mexican calabash, jícaro, morro, morrito, or winged calabash, is a plant species in the family Bignoniaceae and in the genus ''

Crescentia ''Crescentia'' (calabash tree, huingo, krabasi, or kalebas) is a genus of six species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to southern North America, the Caribbean, Central America northern South America. The species are modera ...

'', native to southern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

south to

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

Description

It is a small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

growing to 8 m tall. It has hard, cannonball-like fruit 7–10 cm diameter, that are difficult to break into. It is believed that these fruit characteristics evolved as a defense mechanism against seed predation by long-dead

megafauna In terrestrial zoology, the megafauna (from Greek μέγας ''megas'' "large" and New Latin ''fauna'' "animal life") comprises the large or giant animals of an area, habitat, or geological period, extinct and/or extant. The most common threshold ...

of the region. However, now it seems to be a counter-productive strategy (an evolutionary anachronism), as the seeds inside the fruits cannot germinate unless the shells are broken open, and with the exception of horses and humans, no animals currently living in its native range can break open the fruits. It has been observed that domestic horses may smash the fruit with their hooves and eat the pulp and seeds (suggesting that they may serve as seed distribution vectors).

Daniel Janzen Daniel Hunt Janzen (born January 18, 1939 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American evolutionary ecologist, and conservationist. He divides his time between his professorship in biology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is the DiMaura ...

suggested that

gomphothere Gomphotheres are any members of the diverse, extinct taxonomic family Gomphotheriidae. Gomphotheres were elephant-like proboscideans, but do not belong to the family Elephantidae. They were widespread across Afro-Eurasia and North America during ...

s (extinct elephant-like animals) may have previously been responsible for the dispersal of ''C. alata'' seeds. With their extinction, ''C. alata'' became threatened with the possibility of habitat loss and suffered an extremely limited ability to migrate, but the introduction of a new vector, in the form of domestic horses, has allowed the species to maintain its viability. ''C. alata'' is, not surprisingly, most often found in open areas, such as pastures and fields. It is also cultivated for its gourd-like fruits, which may be hollowed and dried and used as containers for food and drink. In Central America, dried and painted gourd - like fruits are used by local people for making artisanal handicrafts such as piggy banks and ornaments.

Historical usage

The fruit plays a role in the '' Popol Vuh'' (book of myths of the

Mayan civilization The Maya civilization () of the Mesoamerican people is known by its ancient temples and glyphs. Its Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas. It is also noted for its art, arc ...

). After the first generation of hero twins, 1 Hunajpu and 7 Hunajpu, fail and are killed in the

ball game This is a list of ball games and ball sports that include a ball as a key element in the activity, usually for scoring points. Ball games Ball sports fall within many sport categories, some sports within multiple categories, including: *Bat-and- ...

in Xibalba, the demonic Xibalbans hang their skull in this tree. The skull later spits in the hand of the Xibalban princess Ixquic, thus impregnating her and begetting the second, successful generation of Maya Hero Twins. The seeds are edible and high in protein with a licorice-like sweet taste, used in

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

and

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

to make a kind of horchata called semilla de jícaro.''Flowering plants, dicotyledons: Lamiales (except Acanthaceae including Avicenniaceae), Joachim W. Kadereit, Springer, 2004,
Google Books
/ref>

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5184448 alata Flora of Central America Flora of Southern Mexico Trees of Belize Trees of Costa Rica Trees of El Salvador Trees of Guatemala Trees of Honduras Trees of Mexico Trees of Nicaragua Taxa named by Carl Sigismund Kunth