Cucurbita maxima

''Cucurbita maxima'', one of at least five species of cultivated squash, is one of the most diverse domesticated species. This species originated in South America from the wild subspecies ''Cucurbita maxima subsp. andreana'' over 4,000 years ago. ''Cucurbita maxima'', known for modern varieties as Hubbard, Delicious, Marblehead, Boston Marrow, and Turks Turban, originated in northern Argentina near the Andes or in certain Andean valleys. Secondary centers of diversity include India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and the southern Appalachians.

Different squash types of this species were introduced into North America as early as the 16th century. By the American Revolution, the species was in cultivation by Native American tribes throughout the present-day United States. By the early 19th century, at least three varieties are known to have been commercially introduced in North America from seeds obtained from Native Americans.

Types

Subspecies andreana

At one time considered a separate species, ''andreana'' has been placed by modern biosystematics as a subspecies of ''C. maxima''. It is native to Argentina and Uruguay and is the ancestor of the domesticated forms. ''C. andreana'' fruits are smaller and not palatable. It hybridizes readily with individuals of other ''C. maxima'' subspecies.

''C. maxima subsp. andreana'' has notably different calcium levels than individuals of other ''C. maxima'' subspecies. ''C. andreana'' has yellow flowers and bright green striped fruit. Extrafloral nectaries are present in ''C. maxima'' but not necessarily in ''C. andreana''.

It was first formally described by Charles Victor Naudin in 1896, in ''Revue Horticole''.

Cultivars

*Arikara squash is an heirloom variety of ''C. maxima''. Fruits weigh from four to eleven pounds. The shape of the fruit can be tear-drop or round, and they are colored in a mottled orange and green pattern. It is desired both for its eating qualities and as a seasonal decoration. This variety traces its ancestry to the Arikara tribe of the Dakotas, among whom its cultivation predates white settlement.
*Banana squash has an elongated shape, with light blue, pink or orange skin and bright orange flesh.
*Boston marrow sweet tasting, narrow at one end and bulbous at the other.
*Buttercup squash is a common variety, with a turban shape (a flattish top) and dark green skin, weighing three to five pounds, and normally heavy with dense, yellow-orange flesh. Not to be confused with butternut squash.
*Candy Roaster squash is a landrace that was originally developed by the Cherokee people in the southern Appalachians. Another heirloom variety, it is quite variable in size (10-250+ lbs), shape (round, cylindrical, teardrop, blocky, etc.), and color (pink, tan, green, blue, gray, or orange), yet most have fine-textured, orange flesh. This variety enjoys continued popularity, particularly in the southern Appalachians.
*Hubbard squash is another cultivar of this species that usually has a tear-drop shape. It is often used as a replacement for pumpkins in cooking. According to one source, the name comes from Bela Hubbard, settler of Randolph Township, Ohio in the Connecticut Western Reserve. Many other sources list an alternate history. These sources state the hubbard squash (at the time nameless) came to Marblehead, Massachusetts through Captain Knott Martin. A woman named Elizabeth Hubbard brought the fruit to the attention of her neighbor, a seed trader named James J. H. Gregory. Mr. Gregory subsequently introduced it to the market using Mrs. Hubbard's name as the eponym. Gregory later bred and released the blue hubbard, which has a bluish-gray skin. The other major variety, the golden hubbard squash, has a bright orange skin. Gregory advertisements for the squash date from at least 1859. The hubbard squash, including questions regarding the name, is even the subject of a children's ditty, "Raising Hubbard Squash in Vermont".
*Jarrahdale pumpkin is a pumpkin with gray skin. It is nearly identical to 'Queensland Blue' and 'Sweet Meat' varieties.
*Kabocha is a Japanese variety with dark green skin and bright golden-orange flesh.
*Lakota squash is an American variety.
*Nanticoke squash is a rare heirloom variety that was traditionally grown by the Nanticoke people of Delaware and Eastern Maryland. It is one of only a few surviving Native American winter squashes from the Eastern woodlands.
*Turban squash, also known as "French turban", an heirloom predating 1820, and closely related to the buttercup squash.

Uses

Buttercup squash, a common cultivar, can be roasted, baked, and mashed into soups, among a variety of filler uses, much like pumpkin. It is extremely popular, especially as a soup, in Brazil, Colombia, and Africa.

All giant pumpkins (over ) are of this species, including the largest pumpkins ever documented, which have attained a size of .

The seed of ''C. maxima'' is used in treating parasites in animals.

Cultivation

Since this plant requires a fair amount of hot weather for best growth, it has not become very well established in northern Europe, the British Isles, or in similar areas with short or cool summers.

Many cultivars of ''Cucurbita maxima'' have been developed. Only long-vining plants are known in this species.Victor E. Boswell and Else Bostelmann. "Our Vegetable Travelers." ''The National Geographic Magazine.'' 96.2: August 1949. As in '' C. pepo'', plants exist with a "bush habit" that is particularly evident in young plants, but older plants grow in the wild-type vining manner.

Gallery

File:Cucurbita maxima var. zapallito germplasm bank IPK code MAX 301 - 8 days after anthesis.jpg, Typical "Zapallito" summer squash fruit.
File:Cucurbita maxima Zapallo Plomo semillería Costanzi - 2014 03 28 - squash H I N P on the roof.JPG, A vining cultivar growing up to a roof.
File:Pumpkin plant @ Kanjirappally 02.jpg, Plant

References

External links

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Squashes and pumpkins
maxima