MOCK-ORANGE. GOURD. CHILI-COJOTE. CALABAZILLA.
Cucurbita fœtidissima, HBK. Gourd Family.
Stems.—Long; coarse; trailing. Leaves.—Alternate; petioled; triangular-cordate; six to twelve inches long; acute; rough. Tendrils.—Three- to five-cleft. Flowers.—Solitary; yellow; three or four inches long; monœcious. Calyx-tube.—Six lines long, equaling the five linear lobes. Corolla.—Campanulate; five-cleft to the middle or lower; with recurved lobes. Stamens.—In the male flowers two with two-celled anthers, and one with one; in the female all three rudimentary. Ovary.—Three-celled. Style short. Stigmas three; two-lobed. Fruit.—Orange-like, but with a hard rind. Syn.—C. perennis, Gray. Hab.—San Diego to San Joaquin County.
The rough, ill-smelling foliage of the Chili-cojote is a common sight in Southern California, where it may be seen trailing over many a field; but woe to the negligent farmer who allows this pest to get a foothold—for it will cost him a small fortune to eradicate it. It sends down into the earth an enormous root, six feet or so long, and often as broad. When the gourds are ripe, these vines look like the dumping-ground for numerous poor, discarded oranges.
Notwithstanding its unsavory character, the various parts of this vine are put to use—specially among the Spanish-Californians and the Indians. The root is a purgative more powerful than croton-oil. When pounded to a pulp, it is used as soap by the Spanish-Californians, who aver that it cleanses as nothing else can; but rinsing must be very thorough—for any particles remaining in the garments prove very irritating to the skin. The leaves are highly valued for medicinal purposes, and the pulp of the green fruit, mixed with soap, is said to remove stains from clothing. The Indians eat the seed, when ground and made into a mush. The early Californian women used the gourds as darning-balls.
This vine is a near relative of the pumpkins and squashes of our gardens.