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Key to families | Table of families and genera

This text currently parallels The Jepson Manual: Vascular Plants of California, Second Edition that is now available at the University of California Press.

Text appearing in blue on this page will not appear in the printed book; it will be displayed only on the Web. Specimen numbers are hyperlinked to records in the Consortium of California Herbaria data view where possible. Taxa are hyperlinked to entries in the Jepson Interchange via the "[Online Interchange]" link.

 

CUCURBITA GOURD, FIELD PUMPKIN, SQUASH
Annual, perennial herb, from large, fleshy, tuber-like root.
Stem: glabrous to scabrous; tendril branched or not.
Leaf: lanceolate to round, entire to deeply lobed.
Inflorescence: flowers 1 per node, staminate, pistillate at different nodes.
Flower: corolla > 2 cm wide ( staminate generally < pistillate), deeply cup-shaped, yellow to orange, fused part 4–12 cm, lobes generally recurved; stigmas 3, 2-lobed.
Fruit: spheric to oblong, indehiscent; rind firm, smooth to rough or grooved.
Seed: many, < 20 mm, ± ovate, ± flat; margin thick or raised.
12–14 species: Am. (Latin: gourd) [Sanjur et al. 2002 Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 99:535–540]
Unabridged references: [Montes-Hernandez & Eguiarte 2002 Amer J Bot 89:1156–1163; McVaugh 2001 Cucurbita In W.R. Anderson (ed), Flora Novo-Galiciana 3:510–529, Univ Michigan Herbarium, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Decker 1988 Econ Bot 42:4–15]

Key to Cucurbita

1. Mature plants shrub-like; flowers orange; fruit > 10 cm wide ..... C. pepo var. pepo

1' Mature plants trailing; flowers yellow; fruit < 10 cm wide

2. Lf blade angular, finely toothed or weakly lobed at base; tendril branched generally > 1 cm from base ..... C. foetidissima

2' Lf blade deeply lobed, coarsely toothed at base or not; tendril branched ± from base

3. Lf blade lobes ± lance-linear, distinct ± to petiole ..... C. digitata

3' Lf blade lobes triangular or wide-lanceolate, distinct ± 1/2 to petiole ..... C. palmata

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Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) [year] Jepson eFlora, http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/IJM.html [accessed on month, day, year]
Citation for an individual treatment: [Author of taxon treatment] [year]. [Taxon name] in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, [URL for treatment]. Accessed on [month, day, year].
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