Calabash vs. Vine — What's the Difference?

Calabash (Lagenaria siceraria), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean and Tasmania bean, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed as a vegetable, or harvested mature to be dried and used as a utensil, container, or a musical instrument.

A vine (Latin vīnea "grapevine", "vineyard", from vīnum "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word vine can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.In parts of the world, including the British Isles, the term "vine" usually applies exclusively to grapevines (Vitis), while the term "climber" is used for all climbing plants.

An evergreen tropical American tree which bears fruit in the form of large woody gourds.

A weak-stemmed plant that derives its support from climbing, twining, or creeping along a surface.

See bottle gourd.

The stem of such a plant.

A tropical American tree (Crescentia cujete) bearing hard-shelled, gourdlike fruits on the trunk and main branches. Also called calabash tree.

A grapevine.

The fruit of either of these or related plants.

Grapevines considered as a group

A utensil, container, or musical instrument made from the dried, hollowed-out shell of these fruits.

To form or develop like a vine.

A smoking pipe with a curved stem and a large bowl made from the shell of a gourd.

The climbing plant that produces grapes.

A tree (known as the calabash tree; Crescentia cujete) native to Central and South America, the West Indies, and southern Florida, bearing large, round fruit used to make containers (sense 3); the fruit of this tree.

Any plant of the genus Vitis.

The bottle gourd (calabash vine, Lagenaria siceraria), believed to have originated in Africa, which is grown for its fruit that are used as a vegetable and to make containers (sense 3); the fruit of this plant.

(by extension) Any similar climbing or trailing plant.

A container made from the mature, dried shell of the fruit of one of the above plants; also, a similarly shaped container made from some other material.

Any woody climbing plant which bears grapes.

A calabash and its contents; as much as fills such a container.

Weak-stemmed plant that derives support from climbing, twining, or creeping along a surface

(musical instrument) A musical instrument, most commonly a drum or rattle, made from a calabash fruit.

The common gourd (plant or fruit).

The fruit of the calabash tree.

A water dipper, bottle, bascket, or other utensil, made from the dry shell of a calabash or gourd.

Round gourd of the calabash tree

Tropical American evergreen that produces large round gourds

Old World climbing plant with hard-shelled bottle-shaped gourds as fruits

Bottle made from the dried shell of a bottle gourd

A pipe for smoking; has a curved stem and a large bowl made from a calabash gourd