The similarity of the Heb. to the Egyp. kiki, the castor-oil plant, suggests this as Jonah's gourd. This plant, Ricinus communis, often attains in the East the dimensions of a considerable tree. The bottle-gourd, Cucurbita lagenaria, which is often trained over hastily constructed booths, seems to satisfy the conditions of the narrative much better.

Wild gourds (pakk