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Cucurbitaceae Habit: Annual, perennial herb; hairs often hard from calcium deposits; generally monoecious. Stem: trailing or climbing, 1--many; tendril generally 1 per node, often branched. Leaf: generally simple, alternate, generally palmate-lobed and -veined, petioled; stipules 0. Inflorescence: at nodes; staminate flowers in racemes, panicles, small clusters, (or 1); pistillate flowers generally 1. Flower: unisexual [bisexual], radial; hypanthium > ovary; calyx generally 5-lobed (or +- 0); corolla rotate to cup- or bell-shaped, generally 5-lobed; stamens 3--5 (or +- 1--3 from fusion), anthers twisted together, often > filaments; ovary +- inferior, chambers 3--5, placentas parietal, styles 1--3, stigmas generally lobed, large. Fruit: berry, drying or not, or capsule, irregularly dehiscent, often gourd- or melon-like. Seed: 1--many. Genera In Family: 100 genera, 700 species: especially tropics; some cultivated (Citrullus, watermelon; Cucumis, cucumber; Cucurbita, gourd, pumpkin, squash; Luffa, loofah; Sechium, chayote). Note: Several cultivated species included Bryonia dioica reported as waifs in California (Howell 1958 Wasmann J Biol 16:1--157), but none recently. Jepson eFlora Author: John M. Miller & Robert L. Schlising Reference: Schaefer et al. 2009 Proc Roy Soc London Ser B, Biol Sci 276:843--851 Unabridged Reference: Jeffrey 1990 An outline classification of the Cucurbitaceae, In: Bates, Robinson, and Jeffrey (eds.), Biology and Utilization of the Cucurbitaceae 17:449--463, Cornell Univ Press, Ithaca, NY; Kocyan et al. 2007 Molec Phylogen Evol 44:553--577; Lira, Rodriguez-Jimenez, Alvarado, Rodriguez, Castrejon, Dominguez-Mariani 1998 Acta Bot Mex 42: 43--77; McVaugh 2001 Cucurbitaceae In W.R. Anderson (ed), Flora Novo-Galiciana 3:483--652, Univ Michigan Herbarium, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Schaefer et al. 2008 Syst Bot 33:125--132 Scientific Editor: Douglas H. Goldman, Bruce G. Baldwin. Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) Key to Cucurbitaceae Previous taxon: Glossopetalon spinescens var. aridum Next taxon: Brandegea |