Cucurbita pepo

Annual Climber

HomeAnnual ClimberCucurbita pepo

Not known in the wild.

Family: Cucurbitaceae
Height: 0.6 m / 2 ft
Sun, Semi-shade
Light, Medium and Heavy Soil
Moist

Plant Rating

Edible Uses: 4 of 5
Medicinal Uses: 3 of 5
Other Uses: 2 of 5

Native Habitat

Pumpkin, Field pumpkin, Ozark melon, Texas gourd Cucurbita pepo native habitat is Not known in the wild.

Edible Uses

Fruit - cooked. Used as a vegetable, it has a very mild flavour and is very watery. It is often harvested when still very young when it is called courgettes. The fruit has very little flavour of its own and so is often used as a base for making savoury dishes, the seeds being scooped out of the fruit and a filling being put in its place - this can then be baked. A nutritional analysis is available. Seed - raw or cooked. The seed can also be ground into a powder and mixed with cereals for making bread etc. Rich in oil with a pleasant nutty flavour but very fiddly to use because the seed is small and covered with a fibrous coat. A nutritional analysis is available. The seeds can also be sprouted and used in salads etc. Some caution is advised here, see notes above on toxicity. An edible oil is obtained from the seed. Leaves and young stems - cooked as a potherb. A nutritional analysis is available. Flowers and flower buds - cooked or dried for later use. A nutritional analysis is available. Root - cooked. We have some doubts on this report.