20 'Buffalo Gourd' seeds, Cucurbita foetidissima, Soap Squash, USDA Organic
AKA: Calabazilla, chilicote, coyote gourd, fetid gourd, fetid wild pumpkin, Missouri gourd, prairie gourd, stinking gourd, wild gourd, and wild pumpkin. Squash family.
Perennially rooted, multi-stemmed, creeping vine with characteristic trowel-shaped leaves and bright yellow flowers that give way to the small, globe-shaped fruits. Another roadside attraction from the deserts of the American SW. The leaves are leathery and rough, almost immutable to traffic, and they stink.
Traditional Native Americans made natural soap for washing hair and clothing by swishing the cut gourds in water. Green gourd cut in half can be used for scrubbing floors. A natural source of saponins. Internal use may prove purgative, so please avoid.
The mature gourds are small, light, and nicelyround. If carefully dried, they can be made into rattles.
Plant prefers full sun and a dry, well-drained exposure. Sow seed in spring, several per hill, in hills 3 feet or more apart. Thin to best seedling and allow to grow and sprawl.
20 seeds/pkt. Organically Grown in Oregon. Hardy to Zones 7 to 12.