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Male flowers grow on long spikes, while female flowers grow alone in leaf axils. The trunk is covered in long, sharp spikes that secrete poisonous sap . The sandbox tree's fruits are large, pumpkin -shaped capsules , 3–5 cm (1–2 in) long, 5–8 cm (2–3 in) diameter, with 16 carpels arranged radially.
The yellow or orange flowers on a Cucurbita plant are of two types: female and male. The female flowers produce the fruit and the male flowers produce pollen. Many North and Central American species are visited by specialist bee pollinators, but other insects with more general feeding habits, such as honey bees, also visit.
Both sexes are green-yellow, with the male flowers about 0.7 cm and the female 0.5 cm in diameter. The most notable feature are the small pumpkin-shaped fruit, which are green at first before turning shades of white and pink. Divided into segments radially, they eventually split open to reveal bright red 0.5 cm seeds from November to April. [3] [4]
The plants are typically .30–.76 metres (1– 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 ft) high and 0.61–0.91 m (2–3 ft) wide, with yellow flowers. [7] Within C. pepo, the pumpkins, scallops, and possibly crooknecks are ancient and were domesticated separately. The domesticated species have larger fruits and larger yet fewer seeds. [8]
The leaves of the buffalo gourd are typically entire and heart-shaped with a base of 10–13 cm (4–5 in) and length of 20–25 cm (8–10 in). The flowers are borne singly at the nodes of the vines after a certain amount of annual vegetative growth has taken place. [5] The fruit has a diameter of 7–10 cm (3–4 in). [12]
The plant produces an erect, unbranched flower stem, occasionally to 40 centimeters in height, but typically much shorter. A non-flowering shoot bears one smooth, waxy, shiny leaf up to 10 centimeters long and 5 to 8 cm broad, hence its scientific name (dilatatum means 'broad'). The leaf is oval in shape with a heart-shaped base.
The flowers also attract beetles, wasps and various butterflies (including skippers). [8] The fruit attracts butterflies and birds. Viburnum acerifolium is a larval host to the Celastrina ladon butterfly. The berries are eaten by various mammals including skunks, rabbits, deer, [6] the eastern chipmunk, white-footed mouse and deer mice. V.
The flowers are small and greenish, produced in clusters in late spring, and mature in late summer or early fall into small blue-black berries. [3] These berries contain oxalates and the plant may cause dermatitis. [4] Parthenocissus inserta is closely related to and commonly confused with Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper). [5]