Can you ID this Gourd?

I posted this awhile back but really didn't get a good ID on it. Then I see that we have this new forum so I thought I'd give ya'll a chance to help me out here!
What do you think it is?? Besides HUGH that is! LOL

I don't know what it is...could it be a short handle dipper? someone will come along and help us out! HELP!!!! Jo

Go to good old Johnny's catalog, page 28 of 2002 or their web site(www.johnnyseeds.com). There is a family of gourds called Lagenaria. This is what Birdhouse is. When you plant these kinds they will come up with all kinds of shapes. The one you picture could have came with a dipper or birdhouse. See the Cavemans Club in the picture, we had them last year and got some great looking ones! Have fun.
Bernie

Mollybee, I wish I could help, but this is just my first year in the gourd growing business. I'm growing dippers, swan & bird gourds. Your picture doesn't resemble any of mine. What I've learned, is that mine are growing mostly suspended so they are getting unique shapes. If they were to have started growth on the ground with support from below, maybe they would have looked more like yours.

With Dave's help & others, I think we can safely say yours is not a swan gourd. The swan gourds have a splotchy light green marks on them.

This is one in my garden that won't have the curved top cuz I didn't know not to suspend it --> http://davesgarden.com/showforumphoto.php?imageid=17897

In the book RoadRunner suggested, "Gourds in Your Garden", they break the Lagenaria species into four common shapes: basket type, bottle type, dipper type and finally, trough/siphon/snake type. I think yours might fall into the last type I listed because they are described as usually being long with no distinct bulb.

Maybe someone else will jump in here, too :)

I hate to disagree with Morph, but I am pretty sure this gourd in question falls into the dipper type. I've grown dipper gourds before that looked identical to yours, except they were about 1/4 the size. There is a fifth class that I've seen, which is referred to as a "Tear shape". If one accepts this class, I'd say the gourd above goes into it.

Yesterday I did a lot of searching to try to find a name for this one, and couldn't find anything at all. Maybe we should just call it "Massive Tear" :)

Dave

I like that since it didn't fit exactly into any the four categories listed in the book. It was just closest in shape to the last type I listed.

I put forth a motion to declare five categories of gourds: the four I found in the book & the tear category identified by Dave :)

Massive tear it is then!!
Thanks ya'll

In the picture I postd of my bird house gourds...the one plant has 2 very diffrerent types of gourds growing on it...is this normal? Maybe a wee bee took some pollen from the Swans nearby and messed that one up. Jo