The leaves, vine, and fruit are the easiest way to identify this plant. The leaves are a grayish blue-green and are shaped similarly to a garden spade, with leaves alternating on the vine. The fruits are unmistakable as they resemble baseball-sized watermelons, with a pattern of light and dark vertical stripes. Also, it will be located mainly in warm, dry places with well-drained soils, as it must have warm weather during its five to eight-month period of vegetation. This plant is a common forage for animals and humans alike. As the gourd matures, the vine, leaves, and stem will begin to desiccate or dry up. The fruit will also begin to dry which is when it enters the final gourd stage. Under ideal conditions and after a number of years, the central taproot of the buffalo gourd can weigh up to 159 pounds and grow to lengths longer than 8 feet.
This wild plant can even be cultivated, especially considering its ability to survive in semiarid environments where many other garden-variety plants cannot survive. The young, fresh gourd can be eaten in any way that a regular squash can. The mature fruit, however, is not edible due to the development of bitter compounds intended to deter predation. A whole seed of the plant’s more than 300 seeds can yield up to 50 percent oil. Of this oil, 38 to 65 percent of it is linoleic acid, which is a polyunsaturated fatty acid. This oil is similar in composition to other edible oils used for cooking. Furthermore, whole seeds contain around 31 percent protein, making them not only excellent for human consumption, but suggests their usefulness as an animal feed. Moreover, the fresh leaves or whole plant can be used for animal fodder, despite the fact that the crushed leaves can be used as a pesticide. Similar to other edible roots, the dry taproot contains more than 50 percent starch, making it sweet in flavor when eaten. An easy way to eat these gourds is to dry them until they brown. Then cut open the gourd, remove and wash the seeds. Sun dry these seeds and then roast them for 15 to 30 minutes, salt, and enjoy. Otherwise the seeds can be ground into flour or meal or boiled and turned into a mash.
Besides being used for food, Native American cultures often used the fruits and other parts of the plant for the creation of soaps and, specifically, the Zuni people would create a poultice of powdered seeds, saliva, and flowers for injuries to reduce swelling. In fact, smashed whole plants can be used as a poultice to treat ulcers and other skin sores. The juice of the roots can be used as a disinfectant and to remedy toothache. The fruits can also be baked and rubbed onto rheumatic or arthritic areas to reduce pain. The chemical ingredients in the buffalo gourd are primarily cucurbitacins, more specifically cucurbitacin B, D, and E. These cucurbitacins are known to relieve liver damage, strengthen immunity, have anti-leukemic activity, and possibly have anti-tumorous activity for some nasopharyngeal and cervical cancers.
So, remember to try one wild food every day! If you have any questions or comments or ideas for wild food articles or recipes, please email [email protected].