''Cucurbita cordata'' is a species of flowering plant in the squash family. It is similar to '' Cucurbita californica'', ''

Cucurbita cylindrata ''Cucurbita cylindrata'' is a species of flowering plant in the squash family. It is similar to '' Cucurbita californica'', '' Cucurbita cordata'', '' Cucurbita digitata'', and '' Cucurbita palmata'' and all these species hybridize readily. The ...

'', '' Cucurbita digitata'', and '' Cucurbita palmata'' and all these species hybridize readily. These species form the only restricted

xerophyte A xerophyte () is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water. Examples of xerophytes include cacti, pineapple and some gymnosperm plants. The morphology and physiology of xerophytes are adapted to ...

species group In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

in the genus ''

Cucurbita is a genus of herbaceous fruits in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae (also known as ''cucurbits'' or ''cucurbi''), native to the Andes and Mesoamerica. Five edible species are grown and consumed for their flesh and seeds. They are variously know ...

''. Each member of this species group is native to the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

and Northwestern Mexico where they are relatively uncommon. Each group member is found in hot, arid regions with low rainfall. They prefer soil that is loose, gravelly, and well-drained. ''C. cordata'' is found only in the vicinity of Bahía de los Ángeles,

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

. Botanists Bemis and Whitaker suggest that ''C. cordata'' and ''C. cylindrata'' may be a case of

sympatric speciation Sympatric speciation is the evolution of a new species from a surviving Common descent, ancestral species while both continue to inhabit the same geographic region. In evolutionary biology and biogeography, ''sympatric'' and ''sympatry'' are ter ...

. The juvenile leaves of ''C. cylindrata'', ''C. cordata'', ''C. digitata'', and ''C. palmata'' show a high degree of similarity, but their mature leaves are visibly different, as are their root structures. ''C. cordata'' fruits are gray green, striped, and round. It was first identified by

Sereno Watson Sereno Watson (December 1, 1826 – March 9, 1892) was an American botanist. Life Watson was born on December 1, 1826, in East Windsor Hill, Connecticut. Graduating from Yale in 1847 in biology, he drifted through various occupations unt ...

in 1889.

References

External links

cordata Plants described in 1889 Squashes and pumpkins {{Cucurbitales-stub