Cucurbita

Plant Characteristics

Origin:	✈	?

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	?"?" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property.
Water:	◍	?"?" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property.

Scientific Names

Read about Cucurbita in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Cucurbita (classical name). Cucurbitaceae. Gourd. Pumpkin. Squash. Vine-like tender herbs, tendril-bearing, grown for their edible and ornamental fruits. Annual, or the root perennial-rhizomatous, rough-hairy and scabrous, with large often palmately lobed Lvs., the tendrils bifid or multifid: fls. monoecious, large, yellow, solitary in the axils, the staminate long-stalked, the pistillate short- stalked; corolla 5-lobed; stamens 3, arising from the bottom of the fl., and united in a column; stigmas 3, but 2-lobed; ovary inferior, inclosed in a hollow receptacle; tendrils 2-3-forked.—About 10 species in warm parts of Asia. Afr., Amer. The morphology of the pepo or gourd-fruit may be illustrated by the Turban squash. Figs. 1129-31. In this fr., there is a "squash inside a squash." The inner part bears the corolla and the styles. It is the ovary. The corolla is attached about the edge of the inner squash, as the withered remains in Fig. 1129 show. Sometimes the withered corolla becomes detached, but hangs to the withered remains of the (Fig. 1131) explains the structure. The corolla is shown at c, d. The top of the ovary is at o. The stigmas are on the ovary. The part encircling the ovary (outside of o) is the hollowed receptacle. Ordinarily the receptacle is closed at the top, completely confining the ovary; but m the Turban squashes the receptacle does not extend over the top of the ovary, and the ovary therefore protrudes. The older morphologists held this outer part of the squash to be adnate calyx, rather than receptacle. The cucurbits are monographed by Cogniaux, DC. Monogr. Phaner. 3. Also by Naudin, Ann. Sci. Nat. (Hot.) IV, vol. 6. See Pumpkin and Squash. The terms squash and pumpkin are much confused. In Europe, the large varieties of Curcubita maxima are known as pumpkins, but in this country the fruits of this species are known usually as squashes. In America, the words pumpkin and squash are used almost indiscriminately, some varieties in all species being known by those names. The field or common pie pumpkins are C. Pepo; so are vegetable marrows; also the summer squashes, as the Scallop, Pattypan and Crookneck varieties. The Hubbard, Marblehead, Sibley and Turban kinds are C. maxima. The Cushaws, Canada Crookneck, Japanese Crookneck, Dunkard, and Sweet Potato pumpkins (or squashes) are C. moschata. The fruit stem (as shown in Figs. 1133, 1136, 1141) is a distinguishing characteristic of the ripe fruite. C. Pepo and C. maxima, and C. maxima and C. moschata apparently do not intercross. C. Pepo and C. moschata have been crossed, but it is doubtful if they intermix when left to themselves. In Europe, the word gourd (or its equivalent in various languages) is used generically for cucurbitas; but in this country it is restricted mostly to the small, hard-ehelled forms of C. Pepo (var. ovifera) grown for ornament, and to Lagenaria vulgaris. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Cultivation

Do you have cultivation info on this plant? Edit this section!

Propagation

Do you have propagation info on this plant? Edit this section!

Pests and diseases

Do you have pest and disease info on this plant? Edit this section!

Gallery

If you have a photo of this plant, please upload it! Plus, there may be other photos available for you to add.

• 

  photo 1

• 

  photo 2

• 

  photo 3

References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Cucurbita. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Cucurbita QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)