Squash - The Manual of Seed Saving - page 218

squash, maxima squash, winter squash, giant
squash, buttercup squash

Cucurbita maxima

squash, moschata squash, butternut squash Cucurbita moschata

squash, fig-leaf gourd, chilacayote Cucurbita ficifolia

squash, mixta squash, silver-seed gourd, cushaw,
ayote, pipián

Cucurbita argyrosperma

winter melon, wax gourd Benincasa hispida

calabash, bottle gourd Lagenaria siceraria

cucumber Cucumis sativus

melon, cantaloupe, honeydew Cucumis melo

watermelon Citrullus lanatus

Cucurbita spp.

The genus Cucurbita , which comes from the Americas, consists of 30 species, five of which have been
domesticated and whose fruits we call “squash”: C. pepo , C. maxima , C. moschata , C. ficifolia , and C.
argyrosperma . Most squash grown in gardens and found in markets belong to the first three species.
Zucchini (UK: courgette), for example, a C. pepo type, is found in most any vegetable plot, but lately
it is joined more and more by other, tendriled representatives of the genus. Indeed, in the last few years
there has been a veritable squash boom in kitchens and kitchen gardens. Whether as an autumnal dec-
oration or as a healthy vegetable with complex flavors, squash has become a popular garden crop.
People the world over enjoy growing, looking at, and eating these colorful, diversely shaped fruits.

Types and representative varieties of the three most popular squash species
BOTANICAL NAME COMMON NAME

Cucurbita pepo
var. turbinata , 'Ebony Acorn'

acorn

var. longa , 'Cocozelle von Tripolis'

cocozelle

var. torticollis , 'Summer Crookneck'

crookneck

var. pepo , 'Jack o' Lantern' pumpkin

var. clypeata , 'Sunburst'

scallop

var. fastigata , 'Orangetti'

spaghetti squash, vegetable marrow

var. recticollis , 'Early Prolific Straightneck'

straightneck

var. cylindrica , 'Black Beauty'

zucchini

Cucurbita maxima
'Sun Spot'

buttercup squash

'Blue Hubbard'

hubbard squash