Cucurbita pepo
Cucurbita pepo | |
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Assorted cultivars, from top-left, clockwise: | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Cucurbitales |
Family: | Cucurbitaceae |
Genus: | Cucurbita |
Species: | C. pepo
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Binomial name | |
Cucurbita pepo | |
Synonyms[2] | |
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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.
It is a host species for the
Description
Due to their varied genetic background, members of C. pepo vary widely in appearance, primarily in regards to their fruits. The plants are typically 0.30–0.76 metres (1–2.5 ft) high, 0.61–0.91 m (2–3 ft) wide, and have yellow flowers.
The
Taxonomy
The morphological differences within the species C. pepo are so vast that its various subspecies and cultivars have been misidentified as totally separate species. These vast differences are rooted in its widespread geographic distribution.[6]
Several taxa have been proposed, but as of 2012 none has been universally accepted.[11] In 2002, the taxa conventions proposed by Decker-Walters were:[6]
- C. pepo subsp. pepo - cultivated pumpkins, marrows, the orange gourds ("Orange Ball" and "Orange Warted")
- C. pepo subsp. ovifera var. ovifera – cultivated crooknecks, scallops, acorns, most ornamental gourds
- C. pepo subsp. ovifera var. ozarkana – wild populations in the Greater Mississippi Valley and Ozark Plateau
- C. pepo subsp. ovifera var. texana – wild populations in Texas
- C. pepo subsp. fraterna – wild populations in northeastern Mexico
A 2003 study recognized three subspecies:[12]
- Cucurbita pepo subsp. fraterna
- Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo
- Cucurbita pepo subsp. texana
In 1986, botanist Paris proposed a taxonomy of C. pepo consisting of eight edible groups based on their basic shape.[8][13] All but a few C. pepo cultivars can be included in these groups.[13] These eight edible cultivated varieties of C. pepo vary widely in shape and color,[14][15][16] and one inedible cultivated variety:[17]
Cultivar group | Botanical name | Image | Description |
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Acorn | C. pepo var. turbinata | ![]() |
winter squash, both a shrubby and creeping plant, obovoid or conical shape, pointed at the apex and with longitudinal grooves, thus resembling a spinning top,[13] ex: Acorn squash[14][15][16] |
Cocozelle | C. pepo var. longa | ![]() |
summer squash, long round slender fruit that is slightly bulbous at the apex,[13] similar to fastigata, ex: Cocozelle von tripolis[14][15][16] |
Crookneck | C. pepo var. torticollia | ![]() |
summer squash, shrubby plant, with yellow, golden, or white fruit which is long and curved at the end and generally has a verrucose (wart-covered) rind, |
Pumpkin | C. pepo var. pepo | ![]() |
winter squash, creeping plant, round, oblate, or oval shape and round or flat on the ends,[13] ex: Pumpkin;[14][15][16] includes C. pepo subsp. pepo var. styriaca, used for Styrian pumpkin seed oil[18] |
Scallop | C. pepo var. clypeata; called C. melopepo by Linnaeus[6] | ![]() |
summer squash, prefers half-shrubby habitat, flattened or slightly discoidal shape, with undulations or equatorial edges,[13] ex: Pattypan squash[14][15][16] |
Straightneck | C. pepo var. recticollis | ![]() |
summer squash, shrubby plant, with yellow or golden fruit and verrucose rind, similar to var. torticollia but a stem end that narrows, |
Vegetable marrow | C. pepo var. fastigata | ![]() |
summer and winter squashes, creeper traits and a semi-shrub, cream to dark green color, short round fruit with a slightly broad apex,[13] ex: Spaghetti squash (a winter variety)[14][15][16] |
Zucchini (US) Courgette (UK, IE) |
C. pepo var. cylindrica | ![]() |
summer squash, presently the most common group of cultivars, origin is recent (19th century), semi-shrubby, cylindrical fruit with a mostly consistent diameter,[13] similar to fastigata, ex: Zucchini[14][15][16] |
Ornamental gourds | C. pepo var. ovifera | ![]() |
non-edible,[17] field pumpkins closely related to C. texana, vine habitat, thin stems, small leaves, three sub-groups: C. pepo var. ovifera (egg-shaped, pear-shaped), C. pepo var. aurantia (orange color), and C. pepo var. verrucosa (round warty gourds), ornamental gourds found in Texas and called var. texana and ornamental gourds found outside of Texas (Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana) are called var. ozarkana.[19] |
It has been proposed that the domesticated forms of C. pepo are a compilospecies of C. pepo subsp. fraterna and C. pepo subsp. texana.[20][21] A 1989 study on the origins and development of C. pepo suggested that the original wild specimen was a small round fruit and that the modern pumpkin is its direct descendant. This investigation proposed that the crookneck, ornamental gourd, and scallop are early variants, and that the acorn is a cross between the scallop and pumpkin.[8]
Based on genetic allele analysis, two distinct groups occur within domesticated C. pepo: pumpkin, calabaza, criolla, and marrow squash are in one; and ornamental gourds, crookneck, acorn, scallop, and a few others in the second one. C. pepo subsp. fraterna is genetically closer to the first group and C. pepo subsp. texana is genetically closer to the second group.[22][23]
Subspecies fraterna
This subspecies was formerly considered a separate species called C. fraterna by some authorities, but modern biosystematics has placed it as a subspecies of C. pepo.[24][5][25] The isozymes are similar between Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo, and all studied C. fraterna alleles are also found in C. pepo subsp. pepo.[20] It is native to Tamaulipas and Nuevo León, Mexico. This subspecies has not been domesticated.[5] It is considered to be the progenitor and nearest relative of the domesticated subspecies C. pepo subsp. pepo which is found in the same areas as C. pepo subsp. fraterna. It was first formally described by Liberty Hyde Bailey in 1943, in Gentes Herbarum.[24]
Unlike most wild Cucurbita, some specimens of C. fraterna have been found without bitter fruit. Its usual habitat is dry upland scrub areas. It blooms in September and fruits ripen in December.[5]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a6/Cucurbita_texana_7.jpg/220px-Cucurbita_texana_7.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/Cucurbita_pepo_subsp._texana_-_ripe_white_fruit.jpg/170px-Cucurbita_pepo_subsp._texana_-_ripe_white_fruit.jpg)
Subspecies texana
This subspecies was formerly considered a separate species C. texana by some authorities before being reclassified as a subspecies of C. pepo. A common name is Texas gourd. This subspecies is
Distribution and habitat
It is found from sea level to slightly above 2,000 m (6,600 ft).
Cultivation
C. pepo is one of the oldest, if not the oldest domesticated species.[5][27][19] The oldest known locations are in southern Mexico in Oaxaca 8,000–10,000 years ago and Ocampo, Tamaulipas, Mexico about 7,000 years ago.[5][27][19]
Debates about the origin of C. pepo have been going on since at least 1857.[29] Recent biosystematic investigations indicate two distinct domestication events in two different areas: one in Mexico and one in the eastern United States, with C. pepo subsp. fraterna and C. pepo subsp. texana, respectively, as the predominant ancestral species from a phylogenetic perspective.[14][20][21][22]
C. pepo includes a wide assortment of varieties and cultivars:[5]
- Acorn squash
- Delicata squash
- Dodi marrow, grown in South Asia[30]
- Gem squash
- Heart of gold squash
- Kamo kamo, also called kumi kumi, an heirloom summer and winter squash grown by the Māori people of New Zealand[31]
- Several types of ornamental squash (often called "gourds")
- Pattypan squash
- Several types of pumpkin
- Spaghetti squash
- Sweet dumpling squash
- Yellow crookneck squash
- Yellow summer squash
- Zucchini, also known as courgette (or [vegetable] marrow cultivar)
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
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Energy | 88 kJ (21 kcal) |
3.11 g | |
Starch | - g |
Sugars | - g |
Dietary fiber | 1.1 g |
0.4 g | |
Saturated | 0.083 g |
Trans | 0 g |
Monounsaturated | 0.031 g |
Polyunsaturated | 0.169 g - g - g |
2.71 g | |
Tryptophan | 0.024 g |
Threonine | 0.066 g |
Isoleucine | 0.098 g |
Leucine | 0.159 g |
Lysine | 0.151 g |
Methionine | 0.039 g |
Cystine | 0.029 g |
Phenylalanine | 0.096 g |
Tyrosine | 0.073 g |
Valine | 0.123 g |
Arginine | 0.115 g |
Histidine | 0.059 g |
Alanine | 0.142 g |
Aspartic acid | 0.332 g |
Glutamic acid | 0.291 g |
Glycine | 0.103 g |
Proline | 0.085 g |
Serine | 0.111 g |
Niacin (B3) | 4% 0.705 mg |
Pantothenic acid (B5) | 7% 0.367 mg |
Vitamin B6 | 8% 0.142 mg |
Folate (B9) | 5% 20 μg |
Vitamin C | 38% 34.1 mg |
Minerals | Quantity %DV† |
Iron | 4% 0.79 mg |
Magnesium | 8% 33 mg |
Manganese | 9% 0.196 mg |
Phosphorus | 7% 93 mg |
Potassium | 15% 459 mg |
Zinc | 8% 0.83 mg |
Other constituents | Quantity |
Water | 92.3 g |
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults,[32] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.[33] |
Uses
It is an ingredient in "schumaakwe cakes" and is used externally for
Gallery
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'Delicata' squash
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Connecticut Field variety
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Spaghetti squash
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C. pepo var. styriaca
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Female flower of zucchini
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Detail of flower
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Baby zucchini
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Wild C. pepo subsp. ovifera var. ozarkana
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Accidental hybrid of two varieties of C. pepo
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Flowers of zucchini
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ The Plant List, Cucurbita pepo
- ^ "Cucurbita pepo L. field pumpkin". United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
- ^ "Cucurbits". Purdue University. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
- ^ S2CID 40493539.
- ^ JSTOR 3093892.
- ^ "Cucurbita pepo". Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
- ^ S2CID 29052282.
- .
- PMID 15841434.
- S2CID 52803602.
- S2CID 21609254.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Paris, Harry S. (1986). "A Proposed Subspecific Classification for Cucurbita pepo". Phytologia. 61 (3). Bronx Park: 133–138.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Saade, R. Lira; Hernández, S. Montes. "Cucurbits". Purdue Horticulture. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Cucurbita pepo". Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-60469-382-9.
- ^ JSTOR 2419320.
- S2CID 16454305.
- ^ a b c d e "Free-living Cucurbita pepo in the United States Viral Resistance, Gene Flow, and Risk Assessment". Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
- ^ a b c Andres, Thomas C. (1987). "Cucurbita fraterna, the Closest Wild Relative and Progenitor of C. pepo". Cucurbit Genetics Cooperative Report. 10. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina State University: 69–71.
- ^ PMID 11782554.
- ^ ISBN 0-412-36500-6.
- ISBN 978-0-8173-5425-1.
- ^ a b Bailey, Liberty Hyde (1943). "Species of Cucurbita". Gentes Herbarum. 6. Ithaca, NY: 267–322.
- ^ "Cucurbita pepo". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
- ^ "Tristemon texanus Scheele". International Plant Names Index. 2005. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-815-30725-9.
- ^ a b c Victor E. Boswell and Else Bostelmann. "Our Vegetable Travelers." The National Geographic Magazine. 96.2: August 1949.
- JSTOR 2444217.
- ^ Spreading the word on vegetables Archived 2011-09-04 at the Wayback Machine, Coventry Telegraph, Mar 10 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
- ^ "Heirloom Summer Squash at the Kerr Center". The Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
- ^ United States Food and Drug Administration (2024). "Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels". FDA. Archived from the original on 2024-03-27. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
- from the original on 2024-05-09. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
- ^ Stevenson, Matilda Coxe, 1915, Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians. SI-BAE Annual Report #30 (pp. 45–46)
- ^ Stevenson, p. 67
- ^ Stevenson, p. 88
External links
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