The Buffalo gourd is a perineal having 5 petal yellow flower, a horrible odor when brushed against, producing round gourds along the ground from a root recorded to have reached 16” in diameter and several feet deep and used medicinally.
My best guess of what your volunteer may be is a Calabash. The stem has no odor, flowers can have 4 or 5 petals and leaves are lobed in shape.
But then, as your seed likely arrived via wind or bird from where and when, it could be the product of cross pollination and you may be growing a new variety of gourd for us to enjoy.
Take pictures of each part as it matures including any insects drawn to it, any unusual growths/appearances and eggs deposited on underside of leaves or elsewhere then, send pictures to your State Ag Office/Extn, and/or Gourd Grower Associations for identification and to receive and provide useful information.
These places, several books too, are excellent sources for how to grow and care for gourds and what can be done with them. Gourds are so much more than a house for birds!
The Buffalo gourd is a perineal having 5 petal yellow flower, a horrible odor when brushed against, producing round gourds along the ground from a root recorded to have reached 16” in diameter and several feet deep and used medicinally.
My best guess of what your volunteer may be is a Calabash. The stem has no odor, flowers can have 4 or 5 petals and leaves are lobed in shape.
But then, as your seed likely arrived via wind or bird from where and when, it could be the product of cross pollination and you may be growing a new variety of gourd for us to enjoy.
Take pictures of each part as it matures including any insects drawn to it, any unusual growths/appearances and eggs deposited on underside of leaves or elsewhere then, send pictures to your State Ag Office/Extn, and/or Gourd Grower Associations for identification and to receive and provide useful information.
These places, several books too, are excellent sources for how to grow and care for gourds and what can be done with them. Gourds are so much more than a house for birds!