Jicaro. Mexican calabash (Crescentia alata)

Family: Bignoniaceae | Edibility: Edible (2/5)

Smaller fruit than Crescentia cujete (calabash) with slender limbs and a more erect habit.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Fruit, Nuts/Seeds

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Late Summer

Flavor & Culinary Uses

refreshing drink is prepared using the ground seeds, mixed with other ingredients. — A refreshing drink is prepared using the ground seeds, mixed with other ingredients.; The seeds are mixed with raw rice, roasted pumpkin seeds, lemon peel, sugar, water and ice, and made into a non-alcoholic drink called 'horchata'.; A bland, relatively stable oil is obtained from the seeds.; The fruits are sometimes eaten or made into a drink.

Habitat & North American Range

Common or abundant on essentially dry but at seasons often very wet plains and hillsides, at elevations up to 1,200 metres. (Zone 9)