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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Buttercup squash
| image = Cucurbita_maxima_Blanco2.320.png
| image_width = 225px
| regnum = [[Plantae]]
| divisio = [[Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Cucurbitales]]
| familia = [[Cucurbitaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Cucurbita]]''
| species = '''''C. maxima'''''
| binomial = ''Cucurbita maxima''
}}
'''''Cucurbita maxima''''', the '''Buttercup squash''' is an edible type of [[winter squash]] with a turban-shape (a flattish top and dark green skin), weighing 3-5 pounds, and normally heavy with yellow-orange flesh.
'''Lakota squash''' is a [[heirloom plant|heirloom]] variety of ''C. maxima''. Fruits weigh from four to eleven lbs. The shape of the fruit can be tear-drop or round, and they are colored in a mottled orange and green pattern. It is desired both for its eating qualities and as a seasonal decoration. This variety traces its ancestry to the [[Lakota people|Lakota]] of [[the Dakotas]] among whom its cultivation predates white settlement.<ref>[http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/61070/index.html "Daves Garden: Plant Files."] Retrieved May 24, 2007</ref><ref>http://www.nativegardens.net/lakota.htm Retrieved May 24, 2007</ref>
'''Hubbard squash''' is another [[cultivar]] of this species that is usually a 'tear-drop' shape. They are often used as a replacement for [[pumpkin]]s. According to one source,<ref>Troyer, Loris C.: "Portage Pathways" p. 8, Kent State University Press, 1998</ref> the name comes from Bela Hubbard, settler of [[Randolph Township, Portage County, Ohio|Randolph Township, Ohio]] in the [[Connecticut Western Reserve]]. Many other sources list an alternate history.<ref>Watson, Ben: "Taylor's Guides to Heirloom Vegetables: A Complete Guide to the Best Historic and Ethnic Varieties" p. 268, 1996</ref><ref>http://www.saveseeds.org/biography/gregory/index.html</ref><ref>http://www.foodreference.com/html/fhubbardsquash.html</ref> These sources state that the Hubbard squash (at the time nameless) came to [[Marblehead, Massachusetts]] through Captain Knott Martin. A woman named Elizabeth Hubbard brought the fruit to the attention of her neighbor, a seed trader named [[J. J. H. Gregory]]. Mr. Gregory subsequently introduced it to the market using Mrs. Hubbard's name as the [[eponym]]. Gregory later bred and released the Blue Hubbard.
==Uses==
Buttercup squash can be roasted, baked, and mashed into soups, among a variety of filler uses, much like [[pumpkin]]. It is extremely popular, especially as a soup, in [[Brazil]] and Africa.
{{wikispecies|Cucurbita maxima}}
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Squashes and pumpkins]]
{{fruit-stub}}