The Winter Melon, also called Ash Gourd, White Gourd, Winter Gourd, Tallow Gourd Chinese preserving melon is a vine grown for its very large fruit, eaten as a vegetable when mature.It is the only member of the genus Benincasa. The fruit is fuzzy when young. The immature melon has thick white flesh that is sweet when eaten. 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.