Did you know that Crescentia cujete, commonly known as the Calabash tree, is the national tree of St. Lucia in the Caribbean?

Calabash tree - Crescentia cujete

Crescentia cujete, commonly known as the calabash tree, is a species of flowering plant a medium size tree in the trumpet vine family Bignoniaceae native to the Americas, and which is grown in Africa, Southeast Asia, Central America, South America, the West Indies and extreme southern Florida. It is the national tree of St. Lucia.

Crescentia cujete is a small or medium-sized tree with a dense, rounded crown; it usually grows up to 10 metres tall. The thick bole can be 30cm in diameter. It is a dicotyledonous plant with simple leaves, which are alternate or in fascicles (clusters) on short shoots.  Its very useful fruit is up to 30 cm long by 25 cm wide.

The largest fruits upon the tree, globose in form, remind one somewhat of green pumpkins, and a small tree loaded with these huge fruits is an almost unbelievable sight.

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