garlic
葫 centers on garlic, the bulbous plant. The meaning is specific to this allium, often used in cooking and medicine.
葫 combines the grass radical 艹 with 胡, which likely provides the sound コ. The character was created to name the garlic plant, using a phonetic component.
The grass radical 艹 sits above 胡, like garlic bulbs growing under their green leaves. Picture the plant sprouting from the ground.
For コ, imagine a clove of garlic being called a 'co'-ve: co -> コ, and the garlic clove is the heart of the plant.
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calabash (Lagenaria siceraria)