Shot gourd (Cucurbita maxima Duch. ex Lam.) annual stout trailing vine; stem stout, terete, with white short bristles. Petiole stout, terete, densely setose; leaf blade reniform or round-reniform, dark green on surface, light green on back. Tendrils stout, usually dichotomous, sparsely setose. Monoecious. Male flower solitary, pubescent; corolla tubular, lobes with ruffled margins, reflexed outward. Female flower solitary; ovary ovoid, style short, stigma 2-lobed. Fruiting pedicel short, terete, not angled and sulcate; shape and color of gourd fruit vary by species; seeds plump, compressed.

Native to India; commonly cultivated throughout southern and northern China. The fruit is used as a vegetable, and the seeds contain oil.

The young melon is suitable for frying, stuffing or fodder, and the dried seeds can be fried. Shoot melon root system is developed, rapid growth. The fruit is oblong, yellowish-white, and can be used as a vegetable. The surface of the fruit is smooth, the mature fruit has no aroma and contains less sugar. The edge of the seed coat color with the middle, the umbilicus is crooked, the seed is larger.

Eating method of bamboo shoots melon: it is best not to peel, as long as you cut off the head and tail, and then sliced can be eaten raw, steamed, baked can also be.