The winter melon (, and पेठा in Hindi, or Kumbalanga in Malayalam, Upo in Tagalog), also called white gourd or ash gourd, is a vine grown for its very large fruit, eaten as a vegetable. The fruit is fuzzy when young, giving rise to the name fuzzy melon . By maturity, the fruit loses its hairs and develops a waxy coating, giving rise to the name wax gourd, and providing a long shelf life.