Cucurbita pepo L. var. italica

Spice Detail flower Flower Fruit Leave

Family: CUCURBITACEAE

Genus: Cucurbita

Catalan common name: Carbassa. Carbassó.

Spanish common name: Calabacin.

General distribution (Phytogeography): Asia

Uses and properties: Edible or foodstuffs. Medicinal.

Flowering time: JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Life-forms: Terophyte.

Habitats: Cultivated species. Vegetable garden.

Characteristics: An herbaceous crawling plant very characteristic for the edible fruits that it produces (the zucchini squash). The entire plant is prickly and scratchy to the touch. The stems are cannulate and the leaves are lobulate with a serrate margin. The flowers are large, yellow and unisexual.

Observations: This species has a great capacity for hybridization, which is why there are so many cultivated varieties.