Cucurbita (Latin for 'gourd')[2][3] is a genus of herbaceous fruits in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae (also known as cucurbits or cucurbi), native to the Andes and Mesoamerica.

Most Cucurbita species are herbaceous vines that grow several meters in length and have tendrils, but non-vining "bush" cultivars of C. pepo and C. maxima have also been developed.

The fruits have many culinary uses including pumpkin pie, biscuits, bread, desserts, puddings, beverages, and soups; they are now cultivated worldwide.

The first group consists of annual or short-lived perennial vines which are mesophytic, meaning they require a more or less continuous water supply.

Sixteen of the 21 species were grouped into five clusters with the remaining five being classified separately:[15][47] The full phylogeny of this genus is unknown, and research was ongoing in 2014.

sororia is found from Mexico to Nicaragua, and cultivated forms are used in a somewhat wider area stretching from Panama to the southeastern United States.

[63] It has been present in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Peru for 4,000–6,000 years and has spread to Bolivia, Ecuador, Panama, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela.

It generally grows at low elevations in hot climates with heavy rainfall, but some varieties have been found above 2,200 meters (7,200 ft).

[6] In 1986 Paris proposed a revised taxonomy of the edible cultivated C. pepo based primarily on the shape of the fruit, with eight groups.

[74] Cucurbita can be susceptible to the pest Bemisia argentifolii (silverleaf whitefly)[75] as well as aphids (Aphididae), cucumber beetles (Acalymma vittatum and Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi), squash bug (Anasa tristis), the squash vine borer (Melittia cucurbitae), and the two-spotted spidermite (Tetranychus urticae).

[86][87] Symptoms of these viruses show a high degree of similarity, which often results in laboratory investigation being needed to differentiate which one is affecting plants.

[50] Species native to North America include C. digitata (calabazilla),[88] and C. foetidissima (buffalo gourd),[89] C. palmata (coyote melon), and C. pepo.

[96] Recent genomic studies suggest that Cucurbita argyrosperma was domesticated in Mexico, in the region that is currently known as the state of Jalisco.

[57][101] In 2021, world production of squashes (including gourds and pumpkins) was 23.4 million tonnes, led by China with 32% of the total (table).

[109] This bitterness is especially prevalent in wild Cucurbita; in parts of Mexico, the flesh of the fruits is rubbed on a woman's breast to wean children.

[110] While the process of domestication has largely removed the bitterness from cultivated varieties,[2] there are occasional reports of cucurbitacin causing illness in humans.

[114] Also present in pumpkin seeds are unsaturated and saturated oils, palmitic, oleic and linoleic fatty acids,[115] as well as carotenoids.

Although the stems and skins tend to be more bitter than the flesh,[109][117] the fruits and seeds of cultivated varieties are usually quite edible and need little or no preparation.

[122] Other foods that can be made using members of this genus include biscuits, bread, cheesecake, desserts, donuts, granola, ice cream, lasagna dishes, pancakes, pudding, pumpkin butter,[123] salads, soups, and stuffing.

[127] In France, marrows (courges) are traditionally served as a gratin, sieved and cooked with butter, milk, and egg, and flavored with salt, pepper, and nutmeg,[128] and as soups.

In Italy, zucchini and larger squashes are served in a variety of regional dishes, such as cocuzze alla puviredda cooked with olive oil, salt and herbs from Apulia; as torta di zucca from Liguria, or torta di zucca e riso from Emilia-Romagna, the squashes being made into a pie filling with butter, ricotta, parmesan, egg, and milk; and as a sauce for pasta in dishes like spaghetti alle zucchine from Sicily.

[129] In Japan, squashes such as small C. moschata pumpkins (kabocha) are eaten boiled with sesame sauce, fried as a tempura dish, or made into balls with sweet potato and Japanese mountain yam.

[147] In Germany, pumpkin seed is approved for use by the Commission E, which assesses folk and herbal medicine, for irritated bladder conditions and micturition problems of prostatic hyperplasia stages 1 and 2, although the monograph published in 1985 noted a lack of pharmacological studies that could substantiate empirically found clinical activity.

[148] The FDA in the United States, on the other hand, banned the sale of all such non-prescription drugs for the treatment of prostate enlargement in 1990.

[149] In China, C. moschata seeds were also used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of the parasitic disease schistosomiasis[150] and for the expulsion of tape worms.

[152] Cucurbita fruits including pumpkins and marrows are celebrated in festivals in countries such as Argentina, Austria,[153] Bolivia,[154] Britain, Canada,[155] Croatia,[156] France,[157][158] Germany, India, Italy,[159][160][161][162] Japan,[163] Peru,[164] Portugal, Spain,[165] Switzerland,[166] and the United States.

'Squashes and Pumpkins National Festival'), in Ceres, Santa Fe,[167] on the last day of which a Reina Nacional del Zapallo (lit.

[172] In Britain a giant marrow (zucchini) weighing 54.3177 kilograms (119 lb 12 oz) was displayed in the Harrogate Autumn Flower Show in 2012.

[176] Hallowe'en is widely celebrated with jack-o-lanterns made of large orange pumpkins carved with ghoulish faces and illuminated from inside with candles.

[122] Kew Gardens marked Hallowe’en in 2013 with a display of pumpkins, including a towering pyramid made of many varieties of squash, in the Waterlily House during its "IncrEdibles" festival.