Cheese made from buffalo milk. Buffaloes The general name for several species of large ruminant mammals in the family Bovidae. Buffaloes are native to sub-Saharan Africa ( Synceros caffer) and to India and south-east Asia (genus Bubalus, in which there are four species); in these regions, domesticated buffaloes are used to provide draft power, buffalo meat and buffalo milk . Buffaloes are also farmed in other countries, such as Italy, as sources of buffalo meat and buffalo milk. In popular use, the term buffaloes is also used to describe North American bison. Buffalo gourds Common name for Cucurbita foetidissima. Potential starch crop or source of oilseeds. The root starch has physicochemical properties intermediate between those of cassava and corn.