This lifeform is found in central Africa. This lifeform is found widely in the Indo-Australian region. This non-native lifeform is now locally established in greater North America. This lifeform is found widely in the New World tropics. The white color will help identify this lifeform. This lifeform is frequently domesticated. This lifeform is locally common in suitable environments.

White flowered gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) is found in the tropics of the New World, in the tropics of Africa and widely in the Indo-Australian region.

Lagenaria genus is found worldwide in the tropics.  This genus contains six species of annual or perennial herbs.  The leaves are simple, but can be 3-5 lobed.  The flowers are white.  The hard fruits have unusual shapes usually with a narrow portion towards the plant.  One species is established in greater North America.

Gourd Family (Cucurbitaceae) contains about 850 species primarily of the tropics. The members of this family are climbing or sprawling herbaceous vines, typically with tendrils. The petioled leaves are alternate. The correct scientific naming of the many domesticated forms of gourds, squash, and melons is open to dispute. As of 1994, there were about 73 species in 28 genera either native to or established in greater North America, including Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Hawaii, and Greenland. The orange pumpkin associated with Halloween jack-o'-lanterns is one of the most familiar members of this family.

Cucurbitales Order contains one family.

Dicots (Dicotyledoneae Class) are the predominant group of vascular plants on earth. With the exception of the grasses (Monocots) and the Conifers (Gymnosperms), most of the larger plants that one encounters are  Dicots. Dicots are characterized by having a seed with two outer shell coverings. Some of the more primitive Dicots are the typical hardwood trees (oaks, birches, hickories, etc). The more advanced Dicots include many of the Composite Family flowers like the  Dandelion, Aster, Thistles, and Sunflowers. Although many Monocots reach a very high degree of specialization, most botanists feel that the Dicots represent the most advanced group of plants.

Seed plants (Phylum Embryophyta) are generally grouped into one large phylum containing three major classes: the Gymnosperms, the Monocots, and the Dicots. (Some scientists separate the Gymnosperms into a separate phylum and refer to the remaining plants as flowering plants or Angiospermae.)

For North American counts of the number of species in each genus and family, the primary reference has been John T. Kartesz, author of A Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland (1994). The geographical scope of his lists include, as part of greater North America, Hawaii, Alaska, Greenland, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

Kartesz lists 21,757 species of vascular plants comprising the ferns, gymnosperms and flowering plants as being found in greater North America (including Alaska, Hawaii, Greenland, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands).

There are estimates within the scientific world that about half of the listed North American seed plants were originally native with the balance being comprised of Eurasian and tropical plants that have become established.

Plant kingdom contains a large variety of different organisms including mosses, ferns, and seed plants. Most plants manufacture their energy from sunlight and water. Identification of many species is difficult in that most individual plants have characteristics that have variables based on soil moisture, soil chemistry, and sunlight.

Because of the difficulty in learning and identifying different plant groups, specialists have emerged that study only a limited group of plants. These specialists revise the taxonomy and give us detailed descriptions and ranges of the various species.  Their results are published in technical journals and written with highly specialized words that apply to a specific group.

On the other hand, there are the nature publishers. These people and companies undertake the challenging task of trying to provide easy to use pictures and descriptions to identify those species.