Cucurbita pepo

Cucurbita pepo
Assorted cultivars, from top-left, clockwise: pattypan squash, yellow summer squash, a large zucchini (or marrow), and pumpkins
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Cucurbitales
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Genus: Cucurbita
Species:
C. pepo
Binomial name
Cucurbita pepo
Synonyms[2]
  • Citrullus variegatus Schrad. ex M.Roem.
  • Cucumis pepo (L.) Dumort.
  • Cucumis zapallo Steud.
  • Cucurbita aurantia Willd.
  • Cucurbita ceratoceras Haberle ex Mart.
  • Cucurbita clodiensis Nocca
  • Cucurbita courgero Ser.
  • Cucurbita elongata Bean ex Schrad.
  • Cucurbita esculenta Gray
  • Cucurbita fastuosa Salisb.
  • Cucurbita grisea M.Roem.
  • Cucurbita hybrida Bertol. ex Naudin
  • Cucurbita lignosa Mill.
  • Cucurbita mammeata Molina
  • Cucurbita mammosa J.F.Gmel.
  • Cucurbita marsupiiformis Haberle ex M.Roem. [Invalid]
  • Cucurbita melopepo L.
  • Cucurbita oblonga Link
  • Cucurbita polymorpha Duchesne
  • Cucurbita pomiformis M.Roem.
  • Cucurbita pyridaris Duchesne ex Poir.
  • Cucurbita pyxidaris DC.
  • Cucurbita subverrucosa Willd.
  • Cucurbita succado Nägeli ex Naudin
  • Cucurbita succedo Arn.
  • Cucurbita tuberculosa Schrad.
  • Cucurbita urnigera Schrad.
  • Cucurbita variegata Steud.
  • Cucurbita venosa Descourt.
  • Cucurbita verrucosa L.
  • Pepo citrullus Sageret
  • Pepo potiron Sageret
  • Pepo vulgaris Moench

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] Some authors maintain that C. pepo is derived from C. texana, while others suggest that C. texana is merely feral C. pepo.[5] They have a wide variety of uses, especially as a food source and for medical conditions. C. pepo seems more closely related to C. fraterna, though disagreements exist about the exact nature of that connection, too.[6]

It is a host species for the melonworm moth, the squash vine borer, and the pickleworm. They are also the preferred pollen for squash bees.

  1. ^ Castellanos Morales, G., Sánchez de la Vega, G., Aragón Cuevas, F., Contreras, A. & Lira Saade, R. 2019. Cucurbita pepo. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T20742885A20755901. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T20742885A20755901.en. Downloaded on 25 October 2021.
  2. ^ The Plant List, Cucurbita pepo
  3. ^ "Cucurbita pepo L. field pumpkin". United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
  4. ^ "Cucurbits". Purdue University. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
  5. ^ Nee, Michael (1990). "The Domestication of Cucurbita (Cucurbitaceae)". Economic Botany. 44 (3, Supplement: New Perspectives on the Origin and Evolution of New World Domesticated Plants). New York: New York Botanical Gardens Press: 56–68. Bibcode:1990EcBot..44S..56N. doi:10.1007/BF02860475. JSTOR 4255271. S2CID 40493539.
  6. ^ Decker-Walters, Deena S.; Staub, Jack E.; Chung, Sang-Min; Nakata, Eijiro; Quemada, Hector D. (2002). "Diversity in Free-Living Populations of Cucurbita pepo (Cucurbitaceae) as Assessed by Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA". Systematic Botany. 27 (1). American Society of Plant Taxonomists: 19–28. JSTOR 3093892.