WAX GOURD

(Benincasa hispida)  Heirloom.  Also known as 'Chinese Winter Melon', 'Dong Gua', or 'Flour Gourd'.  Large, round, green fruit with a white waxy coating.  Stores for many months if harvested when fully ripe.  A fast growing, vigorous, tropical vine producing very large fruit up to 20kg in weight.  May be used like squash either steamed or in stir fry when young or when left to mature in a special soup served in its own shell.  May also be cubed, boiled and eaten on its own or added to soups and stews, or baked, fried, or candied.  Shoots, tendrils and leaves may also be eaten as greens and seeds dried.  The raw young fruit may be eaten raw in salads like cucumber.  90 to 120 days.  25 seeds