Cucurbita moschata

(Duchesne ex Lam) Duchesne ex Poir.

Pumpkin, Winter squash

CucurbitaceaeFruitLeavesSeeds/NutsFlowersScore: 64/100Potential hazards — see below

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What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit, Leaves, Seeds, Vegetable, Flowers

The fruit is cooked and, in some cultivars, has a delicious flavour when baked — somewhat like sweet potato. The flesh can also be dried and ground into a powder for use in breads and similar preparations. Certain varieties store well for up to 9 months. Seeds can be eaten raw or cooked; they are rich in oil with a pleasant nutty flavour, though fiddly to use as they are small and enclosed in a fibrous coat. An edible oil is also pressed from the seeds. Leaves and young stems are cooked as a potherb or added to soups and stews. Flowers are also edible when cooked.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. It suits the wet tropics. It will thrive in humid as well as in very hot climates. A temperature of 18-30°C is best. In PNG it grows to 2,400 m above sea level. It can tolerate some shade. It can grow in soils with a pH of 5.5-6.9. In Bolivia it grows up to 2000 m altitude. It suits hardiness zones 8-11. In Yunnan.

Africa, Angola, Argentina, Asia, Australia, Balkans, Bangladesh, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Bougainville, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Terr., BIOT, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Central America, Central Asia, Chad, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Ecuador, Equatorial-Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, FSM, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guiana, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Himalayas, Honduras, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Korea, Liberia, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mariana Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North America, Northeastern India, Pacific, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Peru, Philippines, Pohnpei, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Sahel, SE Asia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sikkim, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tasmania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uruguay, USA, Vanuatu, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Antigua & Barbuda, Armenia, Angola, Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Bahrain, Burundi, Benin, Brunei, Bolivia, Brazil, Bahamas, Bhutan, Botswana, Belize, Canada, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Cook Islands, Chile, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Algeria, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Micronesia, Gabon, Grenada, Georgia, French Guiana, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Haiti, Indonesia, Israel, India, British Indian Ocean Territory, Iraq, Iran, Jamaica, Jordan, Japan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Kiribati, Comoros, St Kitts & Nevis, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, St Lucia, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Marshall Islands, Mali, Myanmar, Mongolia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Maldives, Malawi, Mexico, Malaysia, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Nepal, Nauru, New Zealand, Oman, Panama, Peru, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, Palau, Paraguay, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Seychelles, Sudan, Singapore, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, Suriname, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, El Salvador, Syria, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Thailand, Tajikistan, Tokelau, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Tonga, Turkey, Trinidad & Tobago, Tuvalu, Taiwan, Tanzania, Uganda, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, St Vincent, Venezuela, Vietnam, Vanuatu, Samoa, Yemen, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A pumpkin family plant. It is a creeping plant with long creeping stems and softly hairy but without prickly hairs. The stem are rounded or 5 angled and moderately hard. They can grow 15-20 m long. The leaves are large and shallowly lobed and divided like fingers on a hand. Occasionally the leaves have white blotches. They have rounded lobes. They are 20 cm by 30 cm. The leaf stalk is 12-30 cm long. The flowers have male and female flowers separately on the same plant. The fruit stalk is distinctly expanded there it joins the fruit. The fruit are not hard shelled and are dull in colour. The flesh is yellow. Often the flesh has fibres through it. The seeds are plump and white to brown. They separate easily from the pulp of the fruit. The edge of the seed is scalloped and irregular in outline. There are a large number of cultivated varieties.

Nutrition Score: 64/100

Part	Moisture	kJ	kcal	Protein	Vit A	Vit C	Iron	Zinc
Seeds	5.5	2331	555	23.4	—	—	2.8	—
Leaves	93.6	88	21	3	95	10	2.1	—
Fruit	95	35	13	0.7	—	14	0.4	—

How to Grow

Plants are grown from seed. Seeds can be put in a nursery and transplanted.

Propagation: Sow seed in a greenhouse in early to mid spring in rich soil; germination should occur within 2 weeks. Sow 2 or 3 seeds per pot and thin to the strongest plant. Grow on quickly and plant out after the last expected frosts, providing cloche or frame protection for at least the first few weeks if growing outdoors.

Medicinal Uses

The seeds are vermifuge and are eaten fresh or roasted to relieve abdominal cramps and distension caused by intestinal worms. Around 800 peeled seeds is considered a safe and effective treatment for tapeworm — they are ground to a fine flour, made into an emulsion with water, and eaten, after which a purge is needed to expel the tapeworms or other parasites. The boiled root is galactogogue.

Other Uses

An edible oil is obtained from the seed.

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Cucurbita moschata is a species originating in the tropical Americas which is cultivated for edible flesh, flowers, greens, and seeds. It includes cultivars known in English as squash or pumpkin. Cultivars of C. moschata are generally more tolerant of hot, humid weather than squash of other domesticated species. C. moschata also exhibit a greater resistance to certain disease and insects, notably including to the squash vine borer. Commercially-made pumpkin pie mix is most often made from varieties of C. moschata.

Production

Fruit mature in 70-180 days after sowing depending on variety.

Other Information

It is a commercially cultivated vegetable. It is sold in local markets.

Notes

There are 25 Cucurbita species. It has anticancer properties.

Names & Synonyms

Abobora-redonda, Ayote, Be, Bocor, Bulung jelok, Butternut squash, Calabacin, Calabaza, Canada crookneck, Cushaw, Hobak, Hpayon, Iwa, Kabocha, Kanmble, Nhoko, Pamukeni, Pucuk labu, Pwengkin, Tap, Zapallo

Cucurbita pepo var. moschata Duchesne ex Lam.

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