In past year we have noticed a tree on one of our outings outside of Ixtapa Zihuatanejo that we have been told is called the Cirián Tree.

From a distance it looks as though it were covered with grapefruits or something similar, except many of the fruit were attached not just to the small branches, but also to the trunk.

The locals say it is used medicinally for golpes or bruises. Other sources claim that a tonic can be made out of the pulp of the gourd that helps with coughs and bronchitis.

The tree is native to Mexico and found all the way from Tamaulipas to Chiapas and the Yucatan, and also goes by the names of güiro, cujete, huas, jícaro, tecomate and cuautecomate.

The gourd is sometimes cleaned and cut in half, marked, scored or painted decoratively by the locals with patterns and colors to make natural, rounded, bowl-like containers.