Malabar gourd seeds

Malabar gourd or Asian pumpkin, black seed squash, chilacayote, cidra, fig-leaf gourd / Cucurbita ficifolia, syn. Cucurbita melanocarpa

This is a really big liana whose leaves resemble a fig tree leaf, with shoots over a dozen meters in length. The fruits of their pattern resemble motley watermelons.

In culture, the fig-leaved pumpkin or black-seed pumpkin is an annual plant, but in general, in nature it is a perennial.

The pumpkin is a creeper, it has rough and hard stems that can reach a length of 20-25 meters, five-sided. The leaves of this pumpkin are very reminiscent of fig leaves (figs), which is why this type of pumpkin was named so, only they are much larger in size.

The flowers are orange or yellow, in outline like any plant in the gourd family.

The fruits are oval elongated, their color is light green or white, with dark green spots, like in some varieties of watermelon. Their flesh is white, in young pumpkins it is very juicy, sweet. The peel of the fruit is thin, but very strong. The average weight of a pumpkin is 2-5 kg, but there are specimens up to 20 kg. Fruits can be stored up to 3-4 years!

Seeds, unlike other types of pumpkin, this one is black, similar to watermelon, only two to three times larger.

The agricultural technology of this type of pumpkin is not particularly different from the technology of growing other types of pumpkin that are more familiar to us. The only thing is that the fruits of the fig-leaved pumpkin ripen late, so it is advisable to grow it through seedlings.

Useful properties

Fruit. Improve the functioning of the digestive tract, useful in diabetes. They contain a lot of B vitamins. They are also used for diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (not to be confused with rheumatoid arthritis!), Systemic diseases (rheumatism, lupus), skin (psoriasis and others, in particular accompanied by itching), as well as burns and for wound healing. Ficifalia fruits contribute to the normalization of metabolism, therefore, are indicated for obesity and gout.

Leaves. They contain nutrients such as calcium, as well as sodium, iron and phosphorus. The calcium content is quite high.

Seeds are a source of B vitamins. Like other types of pumpkin, they have an anthelmintic effect. They can also cause miscarriage, so they are contraindicated during pregnancy.