Crossword clues for cucurbita
cucurbita
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Cucurbita \Cucurbita\ n. the type genus of the Cucurbitaceae.
Syn: genus Cucurbita.
Wikipedia
Cucurbita ( Latin for gourd) is a genus of herbaceous vines in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae, also known as cucurbits, native to the Andes and Mesoamerica. Five species are grown worldwide for their edible fruit, variously known as squash, pumpkin, or gourd depending on species, variety, and local parlance, and for their seeds. First cultivated in the Americas before being brought to Europe by returning explorers after their discovery of the New World, plants in the genus Cucurbita are important sources of human food and oil. Other kinds of gourd, also called bottle-gourds, are native to Africa and belong to the genus Lagenaria, which is in the same family and subfamily as Cucurbita but in a different tribe. These other gourds are used as utensils or vessels, and their young fruits are eaten much like those of Cucurbita species.
Most Cucurbita species are herbaceous vines that grow several meters in length and have tendrils, but non-vining "bush" cultivars of C. pepo and C. maxima have also been developed. The yellow or orange flowers on a Cucurbita plant are of two types: female and male. The female flowers produce the fruit and the male flowers produce pollen. Many North and Central American species are visited by specialist bee pollinators, but other insects with more general feeding habits, such as honey bees, also visit.
The fruits of the genus Cucurbita are good sources of nutrients, such as vitamin A and vitamin C, among other nutrients according to species. The plants contain toxins, such as cucurbitin, cucurmosin, and cucurbitacin.
There is debate about the taxonomy of the genus, as the number of accepted species varies from 13 to 30. The five domesticated species are Cucurbita argyrosperma, C. ficifolia, C. maxima, C. moschata, and C. pepo. All of these can be treated as winter squash because the full-grown fruits can be stored for months; however, C. pepo includes some cultivars that are better used only as summer squash.
Cucurbita fruits have played a role in human culture for at least 2,000 years. They are often represented in Moche ceramics from Peru. After Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World, paintings of squashes started to appear in Europe early in the sixteenth century. The fruits have many culinary uses including pumpkin pie, biscuits, bread, desserts, puddings, beverages, and soups. Pumpkins and other Cucurbita fruits are celebrated in festivals and in flower and vegetable shows in many countries.
Usage examples of "cucurbita".
This movement of the radicle has been described in Brassica, Aesculus, Phaseolus, Vicia, Cucurbita, Quercus and Zea.
Nevertheless, this explanation does not apply to the Cucurbita, for when germinating seeds were suspended in damp air in various positions by pins passing through the cotyledons, fixed to the inside of the lids of jars, in which case the hypocotyls were not subjected to any friction or constraint, yet the upper part became spontaneously arched.
Thus with Brassica oleracea, Cerinthe major, and Cucurbita ovifera about four such figures were completed in 12 h.
Different varieties of the same species replace each other among the kidney beans, lima beans, the chili pepper Capsicum annuum / chinense, and the squash Cucurbita pepo.
From the several foregoing facts, there can be no doubt that the cauterisation of the tip of the radicle of this Cucurbita on one side, if done lightly enough, causes the whole growing part to bend to the opposite side.
Different varieties of the same species replace each other among the kidney beans, lima beans, the chili pepper Capsicum annuum I chinense, and the squash Cucurbita pepo.