Cucurbita argyrosperma
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Cucurbita argyrosperma |
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| Hoard. ex LHBailey |
Cucurbita argyrosperma is a species of the cucurbit family (Cucurbitaceae).
features
Cucurbita argyrosperma is a creeping to climbing, monoecious plant species. It is hairy solitary to densely downy or stiff. The roots are thread. The shoot axes are slightly angular. The leaves are oval-heart-shaped and have a stem up to 30 centimeters long. The leaf blade is 10–30 × 15–40 centimeters and has white spots. It is three to five times lobed with triangular to elliptical lobes. The leaf margin is serrated to serrated-serrated. The tendrils are three to four parts.
The flowers are individually in leaf axils. The male flowers have a 10-20 centimeter long peduncle. The chalice is bell-shaped and 5–20 × 8–25 millimeters in size. The calyx lobes are linear-lanceolate and 10–35 millimeters long. The crown is tubular to bell-shaped, yellow to orange, 6-12 inches long, with five corolla lobes that make up to a third of the total length of the crown. There are three stamens .
The female flowers are on a short, strong flower stalk 2 to 3.5 centimeters long. The ovary is round, oval-elliptical, sausage or pear-shaped. The calyx is small, the crown slightly larger than that of the male flowers. The stylus is three-grained .
The fruit is a short to long, pear-shaped, straight or curved armored berry 11 to 50 centimeters long. The fruit rind is hard, its surface smooth or slightly ribbed. Their color is white with elongated, reticulated green stripes, or completely white. The flesh is white, yellow or orange in color. The seeds are elliptical, slightly inflated, 15-30 × 8-16 millimeters in size. The seed coat is white, smooth and even. They have an oil content of around 39 percent, their protein content is around 44 percent.
Cultivated forms are distinguished by the following characteristics compared to the other cultivated pumpkin species: The fruit stalk is hard, angular, but when ripe it becomes rounded, corky and only slightly expanded at the point of attachment of the fruit. The shoot axes are hard, angular and furrowed. The leaves are slightly lobed and hairy. The seeds are usually white, sometimes very large, and the surface is smooth. The edge is clear, smooth to jagged, sometimes dark.
The fruits of the varieties Cucurbita argyrosperma var. Argyrosperma and Cucurbita argyrosperma var. Stenosperma are round to pear-shaped and cream-colored with green stripes. Fruits of the variety Cucurbita argyrosperma var. Callicarpa are variable in shape and color. The variety Cucurbita argyrosperma var. Palmeri and the subspecies Cucurbita argyrosperma subsp. sororia have small fruits with often bitter flesh.
distribution
The wild subspecies Cucurbita argyrosperma subsp. sororia is native to Mexico and Central America . The cultivated subspecies argyrosperma is grown today in Mexico, Latin America, the Caribbean , the southwestern United States, and some areas of Asia.
Systematics
The species was listed as a variety of Cucurbita moschata until 1930 , to which it is morphologically similar, but with which it cannot be crossed. It was first described as Cucurbita mixta by Pangalo, but then transferred to Cucurbita argyrosperma , with the species Cucurbita palmeri L.H.Bailey and Cucurbita sororia L.H.Bailey being incorporated as a variety or subspecies in Cucurbita argyrosperma . The type is subdivided as follows:
- Cucurbita argyrosperma subsp. sororia (LHBailey) Merrick & DMBates , the wild forms
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Cucurbita argyrosperma subsp. argyrosperma , the cultivated forms
- Cucurbita argyrosperma var. Argyrosperma includes land races
- Cucurbita argyrosperma var. Callicarpa Merrick & DMBates includes the northern cultivars
- Cucurbita argyrosperma var. Stenosperma (Pang.) Merrick & DMBates includes the southern cultivars
- Cucurbita argyrosperma var. Palmeri (LHBailey) Merrick & DMBates includes weed populations. They probably originated from overgrown forms of Cucurbita argyrosperma var. Callicarpa , which are mixed with Cucurbita argyrosperma subsp. have crossed sororia .
Cultivation
The focus of cultivation is in Peru and Argentina . In the USA, cultivars of the callicarpa variety are cultivated to a very limited extent as food, while the cultivar 'Silver Seed Gourd' of the argyrosperma variety is grown as an ornamental plant.
The sowing takes place at the beginning of the rainy season (May / June). Development takes five to seven months. Young fruits are harvested around three months after sowing. Ripe fruits for seed production are harvested from October to December. On moist soils, such as in the Mixe region of Oaxaca , the stenosperma variety is also grown in the dry season. The same applies to varieties of the callicarpa variety in the state of Sonora . However, artificial irrigation is always necessary, so production can take place all year round.
Propagation takes place exclusively through seeds. The traditional cultivation takes place together with corn, beans and other pumpkins. Unlike the other pumpkin species, Cucurbita argyrosperma is rarely grown in kitchen gardens.
use
Cucurbita argyrosperma is economically much less important than garden pumpkin , musk pumpkin and giant pumpkin .
The flowers, shoot tips, young and ripe fruits are eaten as vegetables . The ripe fruit is sometimes used to make sweets, but most of the time it is used as fodder. The seeds are eaten whole roasted, or ground in sauces and various stews. The seeds are the main product, and consumption is widespread in Mexico and Central America.
In some areas of Mexico the seeds and unripe fruits of the wild forms are also used. The unripe fruits are washed and cooked to remove their bitter taste, which is based on their cucurbitacin content. The seeds do not contain cucurbitacin. They are salted and roasted. In the Yucatán , the pulp of the cultivated forms is used to treat burns and skin diseases.
history
The species was likely domesticated in southern Mexico, where there are archaeological finds dating back to 5200 BC. There. From the wild subsp. sororia became the cultivated subspecies. argyrosperma , the land races of the argyrosperma variety being considered the oldest.
literature
- R. Lira Saade, S. Montes Hernández: Cucurbits . In: JE Hernández Bermejo, J. León (Ed.): Neglected crops. 1492 from a different perspective . FAO Plant Production and Protection Series No. 26, Rome 1994, pp. 63-77. ISBN 92-5-103217-3 (online1) (online2)
- RW Robinson, DS Decker-Walters: Cucurbits . CAB International, Wallingford 1997, pp. 71-83. ISBN 0-85199-133-5
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b R. W. Robinson, DS Decker-Walters: Cucurbits . CAB International, Wallingford 1997, pp. 71-83. ISBN 0-85199-133-5