Wax Gourd

Please forgive me if you thought I was criticizing! That was not the intent of my statement. When I first read the description, I thought: wow, those are the biggest ivy leaves in the world. I've bought winter melon in Asian markets here as well (must admit it's not one of my favorites.)

I was a little confused by your description--It's an ivy I assumed you meant vine). At any rate, I'd never heard of wax gourds before, but knew winter melons. So thanks for the education: I always assumed they were waxed, like some cucumbers, when sent to the market, but turns out it's a natural phenomenon.