Cucurbita:
Cucurbita (Latin for gourd)[3] could be a genus of nonwoody vascular plant within the Cucurbitaceae|dicot family|magnoliopsid family} magnoliopsid family, additionally referred to as cucurbits, native to the chain and Mesoamerica. 5 species ar adult worldwide for his or her garden truck, diversely referred to as squash, pumpkin, or gourd looking on species, variety, and native expression,[a] and seeds. 1st cultivated within the Americas before being dropped at Europe by returning explorers when their discovery of the New World, plants within the Cucurbita ar necessary sources of human food, beverages, and oil. other forms of gourd, additionally referred to as bottle-gourds, ar native to Africa and belong to the dicot genus, that is within the same family and taxonomic category as dicot genus however in an exceedingly totally different tribe. These gourds ar used as utensils or vessels.
Most dicot genus species ar nonwoody vines that grow many meters long and have tendrils, however non-vining \"bush\" cultivars of C. pepo and C. maxima have additionally been developed. The yellow or orange flowers on a dicot genus plant ar of 2 types: feminine and male. the feminine flowers manufacture the fruit and also the male flowers manufacture spore. several North and Central yank species ar visited by specialist bee pollinators, however different insects with a lot of general feeding habits like honey bees additionally visit. The fruits of the dicot genus genus ar sensible sources of many nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin C, niacin, folic acid, and iron, and like all plant merchandise ar freed from sterol. The plants contain the toxins cucurbitin, cucurmosin, and cucurbitacin. there\'s some disagreement regarding a way to handle the taxonomy of the genus; the amount of species accepted by totally different specialists varies from thirteen to thirty. additionally, the ancestry of a number of the species that are cultivated for millennia is unsure. The 5 domesticated species ar winter squash, C. ficifolia, C. maxima, C. moschata, and C. pepo. All of those will be treated as winter squash as a result of the fully grown fruits will be keep for months; but, C. pepo includes some cultivars that ar higher used solely as summer squash.
