Stunned by nearly 2 meter long gourd in Nghe An

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai in Quynh Hau commune (Quynh Luu) owns a nearly 2 meter long gourd that was planted more than two months ago. Photo by Viet Hung.

These days, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hai's family in Hamlet 8, Quynh Hau Commune (Quynh Luu) always has many people coming to see the gourd tree with fruit nearly 2 meters long.

According to Ms. Hai, this gourd tree was planted more than 2 months ago, because it was planted in good soil, the tree grew quickly. Over time, the gourd tree flowered, bore fruit and now has a gourd that is nearly 2 meters long; the swollen part of the fruit has a diameter of 30 cm; this gourd weighs about 8 kg.

The largest part of the gourd measures 31 cm in diameter; it is likely that this fruit will grow even larger and longer. Photo by Viet Hung.

"My family grows squash every year, but we have never seen a squash this long. I will keep this one for everyone to admire and to use as seed for the next crop," said Ms. Hai.

About a week before, Ms. Hai’s family had also picked a 1.5 meter long gourd from this tree to eat. Currently, there are dozens of small gourds growing on the tree.

Ms. Ho Thi Xuan, a resident in the village, said that many families grow gourds, but the fruit when harvested is only 60 - 80 cm long; however, this is the first time I have seen a gourd nearly 2 meters long.

Many people were excited and surprised when they saw such a record-long gourd for the first time. Photo by Viet Hung

According to rumors, many people around the area came to see and take pictures of this nearly 2 meter long gourd; some people said that this is the record long gourd in Nghe An.

Gourd, scientific name Lagenaria siceraria, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae. This plant originates from Africa and India, and is now widely grown in tropical and subtropical countries around the world. Gourds come in many different shapes and sizes. With a cylindrical shape (round, long), mature gourds are about 60-80 cm long when harvested, with some fruits up to 1 m long. Young gourds are often used to cook soup, boil or stir-fry... Young leaves can also be boiled to make vegetables.