Cucurbita ficifolia occupies an unusual corner of the squash family. Its fruits look remarkably like small watermelons — green-striped, rounded, and dense — but the flesh is white and fibrous when young, used widely across Latin America in sweets and candied preserves, and the leaves bear the unmistakable lobed outline of a fig, which is how both its Latin name and its most common English name came to be. The stems and young leaves are also edible, making this among the more utilitarian plants in the genus.

Unlike most annual squashes, figleaf gourd is notably tolerant of partial shade and unfussy about soil quality, managing adequately in clay or sandy conditions that would discourage its relatives. It is a vigorous climber and will take over a fence or pergola given half a chance. In its native Andean highlands it behaves more like a short-lived perennial, but in temperate gardens it runs its full annual cycle — germinating in warmth, climbing hard through summer, fruiting in fall. The mature fruits, once cured, store at room temperature for two years or longer, growing sweeter with time in a way no other squash quite manages.