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This list of gourds and squashes provides an alphabetical list of (mostly edible) varieties of the plant genus Cucurbita, commonly called gourds, squashes, pumpkins and zucchinis/courgettes. Common names can differ by location. The varieties included below are members of the following species: C. argyrosperma; C. ficifolia
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.
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]
Both are important food plants of the original people of the region, ranking next to maize and beans. [4] The flowers and the mature seeds, and the flesh of the fruit are eaten in some areas. [4] Before the arrival of Europeans, C. moschata and C. pepo had been carried over all parts of North America where they could be grown. [4]
Cucurbita pepo is a cultivated plant of the genus Cucurbita. It yields varieties of winter squash and pumpkin, but the most widespread varieties belong to the subspecies Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo, called summer squash. [3] It has been domesticated in the Americas for thousands of years. [4]
Per Britannica, pumpkin is technically a type of berry called a pepo, which is a fruit that has a hard outer layer and no dividing chambers. (And for the record, squash is also technically a fruit ...
The plants in this family are grown around the tropics and in temperate areas of the world, where those with edible fruits were among the earliest cultivated plants in both the Old and New Worlds. The family Cucurbitaceae ranks among the highest of plant families for number and percentage of species used as human food. [5]