Cucurbitaceae

? Cucurbitaceae
Hodgsonia male plant
Plant Info
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Cucurbitales Family: Cucurbitaceae Juss.

Cucurbitaceae is a plant family commonly known as gourds or cucurbits and includes crops like cucumbers, squashes (including pumpkins), luffas, melons and watermelons. The family is predominately distributed around the tropics, where those with edible fruits were amongst the earliest cultivated plants in both the Old and New Worlds.

Most of the plants in this family are annual vines with large showy-blossoms, usually white or various shades of bright yellow to orange-yellow. The plants produce male and female flowers separately on the same plant, and the female flowers have inferior ovaries. The fruit is a kind of berry called a pepo.

Most of the plants in this family are readily susceptible to the larva of a particular moth, the Squash Borer.

Classification

There are about 118 extant genera in Cucurbitaceae, including 825 species. The following is the classification as given by Charles Jeffrey as of 1990.

Subfamily Zanonioideae (small striate pollen grains)

• Tribe Zanonieae
  • Subtribe Fevilleinae: Fevillea
  • Subtribe Zanoniinae: Alsomitra Zanonia Siolmatra Gerrardanthus Zygosicyos Xerosicyos Neoalsomitra
  • Subtribe Gomphogyninae: Hemsleya Gomphogyne Gynostemma
  • Subtribe Actinostemmatinae: Bolbostemma Actinostemma
  • Subtribe Sicydiinae: Sicydium Chalema Pteropepon Pseudosicydium Cyclantheropsis

Subfamily Cucurbitoideae (styles united into a single column)

• Tribe Melothrieae
  • Subtribe Dendrosicyinae: Kedrostis Dendrosicyos Corallocarpus Ibervillea Tumamoca Halosicyos Ceratosanthes Doyerea Trochomeriopsis Seyrigia Dieterlea Cucurbitella Apodanthera Guraniopsis Melothrianthus Wilbrandia
  • Subtribe Guraniinae: Helmontia Psiguria Gurania
  • Subtribe Cucumerinae: Melancium Cucumeropsis Posadaea Melothria Muellarargia Zehneria Cucumis (with synonyms: Mukia and Dicaelospermum according to Ghebretinsae et al., is likely that Cucumella, Oreosyce and Myrmecosicyos are too ).
  • Subtribe Trochomeriinae: Solena Trochomeria Dactyliandra Ctenolepsis
• Tribe Schizopeponeae: Schizopepon
• Tribe Joliffieae
  • Subtribe Thladianthinae: Indofevillea Siraitia Thladiantha Momordica
  • Subtribe Telfairiinae: Telfaria
• Tribe Trichosantheae
  • Subtribe Hodgsoniinae: Hodgsonia
  • Subtribe Ampelosicyinae: Ampelosicyos Peponium
  • Subtribe Trichosanthinae: Gymnopetalum Trichosanthes Tricyclandra
  • Subtribe Herpetosperminae: Cephalopentandra Biswarea Herpetospermum Edgaria
• Tribe Benincaseae
  • Subtribe Benincasinae: Cogniauxia Ruthalicia Lagenaria Benincasa Praecitrullus Citrullus Acanthosicyos Eureiandra Bambekea Nothoalsomitra Coccinia Diplocyclos Raphidiocystis Lemurosicyos Zombitsia Ecballium Bryonia
  • Subtribe Luffinae: Luffa
• Tribe Cucurbiteae (pantoporate, spiny pollen): Cucurbita Sicana Tecunumania Calycophysum Peponopsis Anacaona Polyclathra Schizocarpum Penelopeia Cionosicyos Cayaponia Selysia Abobra
• Tribe Sicyeae (trichomatous nectary, 4- to 10-colporate pollen grains)
  • Subtribe Cyclantherinae: Hanburia Echinopepon Marah Echinocystis Vaseyanthus Brandegea Apatzingania Cremastopus Elateriopsis Pseudocyclanthera Cyclanthera Rytidostylis
  • Subtribe Sicyinae: Sicyos Sicyosperma Parasicyos Microsechium Sechium Sechiopsis Pterosicyos
• incertae sedis: Odosicyos

Alphabetical list of genera: Abobra Acanthosicyos Actinostemma Alsomitra Ampelosycios Anacaona Apatzingania Apodanthera Bambekea Benincasa Biswarea Bolbostemma Brandegea Bryonia Calycophysum Cayaponia Cephalopentandra Ceratosanthes Chalema Cionosicyos Citrullus Coccinia Cogniauxia Corallocarpus Cremastopus Ctenolepis Cucumella Cucumeropsis Cucumis Cucurbita Cucurbitella Cyclanthera Dactyliandra Dendrosicyos Dicaelospermum Dieterlea Diplocyclos Doyerea Ecballium Echinocystis Echinopepon Edgaria Elateriopsis Eureiandra Fevillea Gerrardanthus Gomphogyne Gurania Guraniopsis Gymnopetalum Gynostemma Halosicyos Hanburia Helmontia Hemsleya Herpetospermum Hodgsonia Ibervillea Indofevillea Kedrostis Lagenaria Lemurosicyos Luffa Marah Melancium Melothria Melothrianthus Microsechium Momordica Muellerargia Mukia Myrmecosicyos Neoalsomitra Nothoalsomitra Odosicyos Oreosyce Parasicyos Penelopeia Peponium Peponopsis Polyclathra Posadaea Praecitrullus Pseudocyclanthera Pseudosicydium Psiguria Pteropepon Pterosicyos Raphidiocystis Ruthalicia Rytidostylis Schizocarpum Schizopepon Sechiopsis Sechium Selysia Seyrigia Sicana Sicydium Sicyos Sicyosperma Siolmatra Siraitia Solena Tecunumania Telfairia Thladiantha Trichosanthes Tricyclandra Trochomeria Trochomeriopsis Tumacoca Vaseyanthus Wilbrandia Xerosicyos Zanonia Zehneria Zombitsia Zygosicyos Ref: Watson and Dallwitz 3 September 2002

References

• David Bates, Richard Robinson, Charles Jeffrey, eds. (1990). Biology and Utilization of the Cucurbitaceae. Cornell UP. ISBN 0-8014-1670-1. 
• Jeffrey, C. 2005. A new system of Cucurbitaceae. Bot. Zhurn 90: 332–335. [latest classification of Cucurbitaceae]

External links

• Cucurbitaceae in T.C. Andres (1995 onwards).
• Cucurbitaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. http://delta-intkey.com
• J.H. Kirkbride Jr and M.J. Dallwitz (2000 onwards). Cucumis and Cucumella (Cucurbitaceae): cucumbers and melons.
• Cucurbit seed as possible oil & protein sources