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According to S. A. Seddons' Trees of the Caribbean:
"This tree grows to a height of about thirty feet.
The branches are long and form a spreading habit. The characteristic
arrangement of the leaves is in clustered or condensed spirals or reduced shoots borne on
long thin branches. The habit is strangely gaunt and the clusters of leaves are
themselves spirally arranged on the branches. Each leaf is between two and five
inches long. The texture is leathery and the color is bright green on the upper
surface and paler below. The flowers are bell shaped, each about two inches with a
pale yellow colour. The flowers are pollinated by nocturnal, nectar-sipping bats
which find the floral structure by echolocution. The fruits [. . .] may grow to more
than twelve inches in diameter" (8).
 
The slaves often used calabash fruit to create water containers,
bowls, and other implements. When cored, the shell dried hard and watertight (like
any gourd). The calabash also kept water cooler than if it sat in a rain barrel.
 
Today, the functional use of calabash gourds as eating or drinking
implements has largely fallen out of favor in the Caribbean, though a few specific groups
(such as the Rastafarians) still use the gourds in everyday, practical functions.
More often, however, the calabash is used as part of a decorative, artistic work.
The art is often still functional--much art in the Caribbean has a useful purpose
beyond simple decoration--and takes the form of handbags, pots, rattles, or even drums.
The artist chooses a calabash to suit the size and shape of what
s/he has in mind while it still grows green on the tree. After picking it, s/he uses
an implement very much like a linoleum cutter to carve designs and images into the green
calabash. The carved lines will dry several shades lighter than the uncarved
portions of the calabash. When the artist finishes carving the calabash to
satisfaction, s/he saws off the fruit's top along a predetermined line then cores out the
pulpy white mass of fruit, seeds, and juice. The meat and juice of the calabash is
poisonous, though some claim it has medicinal purposes when used properly. The shell
is left to dry in the sun, where it will darken to a shade of brown that varies with each
tree. When the gourd is fully dried, the artist adds the finishing touches--beads,
strips of leather, etc.--and transforms it into a work of art.
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