What is "cucurbita pepo"

crookneck \crook"neck`\, n. Either of two varieties of squash, distinguished by their tapering, recurved necks. The summer crookneck is botanically a variety of the pumpkin ( Cucurbita pepo) and matures early in the season. It is pale yellow in color, with warty excrescences. The winter crookneck belongs to a distinct species ( Cucurbita moschata) and is smooth and often striped. [U. S.]

Syn: crookneck squash. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] ||

Pumpkin \Pump"kin\, n. [For older pompion, pompon, OF. pompon, L. pepo, peponis, Gr. ?, properly, cooked by the sun, ripe, mellow; -- so called because not eaten till ripe. Cf. Cook, n.] (Bot.) A well-known trailing plant ( Cucurbita pepo) and its fruit, -- used for cooking and for feeding stock; a pompion. Pumpkin seed.

1. The flattish oval seed of the pumpkin.

2. (Zo["o]l.) The common pondfish.

Cucurbita pepo is a cultivated plant of the genus Cucurbita. It yields varieties of winter squash and pumpkin, but the most widespread varieties belong to Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo, called summer squash.

It has been domesticated in the New World for thousands of years. Some authors maintain that C. pepo is derived from C. texana, while others suggest that C. texana is merely feral C. pepo. They have a wide variety of uses, especially as a food source and for medical conditions. C. pepo seems more closely related to C. fraterna, though disagreements exist about the exact nature of that connection, too.