Squashes
Botanical name: Cucurbita
Squashes
Botanical name: Cucurbita
Description
Squashes are vining plants, many of which are commonly cultivated as a food crop for their fruit and seeds. this group includes squashes, gourds, and pumpkins. The fruits are good sources of vitamins and nutrients such as niacin and folic acid, and their flowers attract important pollinators such as bees.
Species of Squashes
Fingerleaf gourd
The fingerleaf gourd is a type of vine that can be identified by its fuzzy, palmate leaves. Although it produces dark-green squash as its fruit, it has a disagreeable bitter flavor, and the pulp can be toxic to some people.
Field pumpkin 'Hundredweight'
It's all in the name with this cultivar! A mammoth variety that was cultivated especially for producing giant pumpkins, field pumpkin 'Hundredweight' was cultivated as a sport of field pumpkins. It was then named specifically for its massive-sized pumpkins, with some even growing to 100 pounds. Field pumpkin 'Hundredweight' is popular for pumpkin competitions due to its impressive growth habit and bright, healthy look.
Field pumpkin 'Zucchini'
Field pumpkin 'Zucchini' is a bushy plant with enormous leaves and large yellow-orange flowers. Both leaves and stems have prickly trichomes. The fruit is a long, dark green, and cylindrical vegetable (regularly known as zucchini) that is used in many culinary dishes all around the world. This is a variant of the same species that produces pumpkins and squash.
Japanese pie pumpkin
The flowers are orange or yellow and bloom in summer. The plant grows about 30 cm high and spreads 3 to 4.5 m. It likes well drained soil and has both male and female flowers. Fruits can weigh up to 20 lb. It is often found in close proximity to Cucurbita moschata.
Malabar gourd
The plant stem can grow 5 to 15 m and produces tendrils that help it climb adjacent plants and structures. The color of the flowers is yellow to orange. The fruit is oblong with a diameter of 20 cm, weighs 11 to 13 pounds, and can produce up to 500 seeds.
Buffalo gourd
Buffalo gourd (*Cucurbita foetidissima*) is a perennial plant that grows best in semiarid regions and deserts. It produces oil and may someday be commercially leveraged for biofuel production. The pumpkin portion of the gourd contains many carbohydrates.
Field pumpkin 'El Greco'
Field pumpkin 'El Greco' is a popular cultivar of summer squash. Its prize-winning fruit was domesticated in the Americas. This cultivar can easily be found in grocery stores or gardens. It is, however, sterile, so it cannot be propagated by seed. It may have received its name from its Greek roots.
Coyote melon
Coyote melon is a low-growing, sprawling vine that prefers dry conditions and loose, gravel-type soil. Although it is a member of the squash family, its fruit is inedible. The dried gourds were once used as musical instruments.
Winter squash
Winter squash is a trailing vegetable vine that produces delicious fruits in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes. The fruits have a moderate flavor and are utilized in a variety of cuisines worldwide. This plant's male and female blooms generate nectar and a scent that attracts a variety of bee species, including the squash bee.
Field pumpkin
Field pumpkin are most commonly seen as decorations throughout the autumn and during the Halloween holiday, when they are carved and used as traditional jack-o'-lanterns. While the taste of field pumpkin flesh may not be ideal, eating the seeds after toasting them with a bit of salt can be a delicious treat!
Butternut squash
Butternut squash (Cucurbita moschata) is a plant species also known as Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck Squash. This species is considered easy to grow in winter. Butternut squash is edible, sweet, flavorful and used for soups, stews, and pies. It will keep well if stored properly.
Cucurbita radicans
Cucurbita radicans are vining plants, many of which are commonly cultivated as a food crop for their fruit and seeds. This group includes squashes, gourds, and pumpkins. The fruits are good sources of vitamins and nutrients such as niacin and folic acid, and their flowers attract important pollinators such as bees.
Scientific Classification
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