PLANT OF THE WEEK

Dr. T. Ombrello - UCC Biology Department

GOURDS

Scientific name:        Cucurbita pepo

Explanation of scientific name:       

Cucurbita   - the Latin name for gourd.

pepo            - the technical name for the fleshy berry-like fruit with a rind and spongy seedy interior that is typical of members of this species.

Cucurbita pepo, like other members of the Gourd family of plants (Cucurbitaceae), is a species with a wide diversity of form. Our selection for unusual and useful fruit types over the centuries has given us the following members of this species:

If you are familiar with even some of these cultivated varieties, you can appreciate the wide variation in color and form of fruit they represent.  Since they are all members of the same species, they can readily interbreed.  If any 2 of the above varieties are planted near each other, bees will most likely cross-pollinate them.  If one were to save the seeds and plant them the following year, this second generation would produce an unbelievable array of colored, shaped, textured, and sized fruits.  Most or all of these offspring, however, would be inferior to their parents in respect to the purposes for which the parents were bred. Commercial seed growers maintain the individual varieties by isolating the growing areas to prevent cross-pollination.

Cucurbita pepo is native to the Americas.  Archaeological digs have uncovered vast numbers of seeds and rinds of this species, indicating that it has been in cultivation for thousands of years.  The species was introduced into Europe in the early 1500’s, and received the common name “gourd” because of its superficial resemblance to Old World gourds.  In addition to spreading it throughout the Old World, Europeans reintroduced the species back into the Americas with the early colonists.  Simple plant breeding/selection, however, had given rise to new forms that were unrecognized by the Native American Indians.

The small, hard shell gourds with such common names as Apple, Bell, Bicolor, Egg, Orange, and Pear are characterized by a hard lignified outer rind that renders them virtually inedible to humans.  They do, however, find many uses.  Harvested in the fall after their extensive vines have died down and the rind has hardened, these gourds are often used to decorate tabletops and front porches in baskets or flower arrangements to herald the autumn season.  

If dried properly, these gourds will last almost indefinitely.  After harvesting, a long needle should be used to punch a hole near the stem end of the fruit to let air in.  If hung in a dry, well-ventilated place for several months, the internal cavity will dehydrate.  The seeds will become loose and rattle around when fully dry.

Besides ornaments, these dried fruits have been cut for use as domestic utensils such as bottles, bowls, ladles, spoons, churns and other containers.  Musical instruments, pipes and floats for fishing nets have also been fashioned from the fruits.  Some of the larger types have been made into simple birdhouses.  The uses for these unusual fruits seem to be limited only by one’s imagination.