The genus name Lagenaria comes from lagena, the Latin name for a Florence flask; referring to the fruit of the calabash (L. siceraria). The species name sphaerica comes from the Greek word for a sphere, referring to the fruit of this particular species. This plant was previously known as L. mascarena Naudin and Luffa sphaerica Sond.

The Cucurbitaceae consists of about 120 genera and 735 species that are cosmopolitan in mostly tropical and subtropical countries. Many species are cultivated and of economic importance as food plants such as cucumber, melon, pumpkin and watermelon. Members of this family are annual or perennial herbs or shrubs (only one species is a tree). The leaves are alternate and variable and tendrils are almost always present. The flowers are mostly unisexual and white or yellow; they occur on the same plant (monoecious) or on separate plants (dioecious). The fruit often is an indehiscent berry (soft-shelled) or gourd (hard-shelled) with one to many, often flattened seeds. There are about 18 genera and 75 species of this family in southern Africa.

The genus Lagenaria contains six species, probably all Old World and mainly African. L. siceraria, the calabash, is now pantropical. Only two species are found in southern Africa; L. siceraria and L. sphaerica.