Cucurbita moschata is a species originating in either Central America or northern South America.[2] It includes cultivars known as squash or pumpkin. C. moschata cultivars are generally more tolerant of hot, humid weather than cultivars of C. maxima or C. pepo. They also generally display a greater resistance to disease and insects, especially to the squash vine borer. Commercially made pumpkin pie mix is most often made from varieties of C. moschata. The ancestral species of the genus Cucurbita were present in the Americas before the arrival of humans. Evolutionarily speaking the genus is relatively recent in origin as no species within the genus is genetically isolated from all the other species. C. moschata acts as the genetic bridge within the genus and is closest to the genus' progenitor.[3]
Varieties
Cultivars include:
- Al Hachi – a winter squash used in Kashmir, usually dried
- Aehobak – a summer squash, also called Korean zucchini
- Butternut squash – a popular winter squash in much of North America
- Calabaza - a commonly grown winter squash in the Caribbean, tropical America, and the Philippines
- Crookneck[4]
- Dickinson pumpkin – Libby's uses a proprietary strain of Dickinson for its canned pumpkin.[5][6]
- Giromon - A large, green cultivar, grown primarily in the Caribbean. Haitians use it to make the traditional "soupe giromon".[7]
- Golden Cushaw – Similar in shape but a different species than the common Cucurbita argyrosperma "cushaw" type.
- Loche – a landrace of squashes from Peru.[8]
- Long Island cheese pumpkin - the exterior resembles a wheel of cheese in shape, color, and texture
- Musquée de Provence or Moscata di Provenza
- Naples long squash
- Seminole pumpkin - an heirloom variety originally cultivated by the Seminole Native Americans of Florida
- Tromboncino - a summer squash, also known as "Zucchetta"[9]
Gallery
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