When the Calabash plant in my school Herb Garden first bore fruit, my colleagues only thought of using it to make a dish. Me? I took some of the gourds home and put used them as decorations during Chinese New Year as the Calabash or Wu Lou is an auspicious symbol to the Chinese.
After doing quite a lot of read-up on it, I found that it can be used as a medicine. The leaves of the plant can be used to treat insomnia. In Chinese medicine, when the calash gourd ripens, its peel is collected and dried in the sun. It is supposed to help increase water metabolism and reduce edema.
The pictures above were taken on Friday. The tendrils of the plant are beginning to reach up to the tree trunk. Hopefully the plant that was planted by my library assistant, Puan Asiah, will grow well and bear lots and lots of Wu Lou.
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