40 CUCURBITACEE. 
liffia Africana, Delill. 1. c. t.6. Male plant and seed. The 
seeds are as large as chestnuts, and as good as almonds, and when 
pressed they yield an abundance of oil, equal to that of the finest 
olives. 
African Ampelosicyos. Fl. July. Cit. 1825. Pl. cl. 
Cult. Any light soil will suit this plant, and cuttings root 
readily under a hand-glass, in heat. It is a strong coarse 
growing plant, and therefore requires a great deal of room, both 
for the roots and the branches, or it will not flower. 
XVIII. CUCU’RBITA (from curvitas, crookedness, accord- 
ing to Scaliger ; in reference to the shape). Lin. gen. no. 1478. 
Juss. gen. p. 396. Gærtn. fruct: 2. p. 49. t. 88. f. 5. exclusive 
of C. Lagenària of authors. Citrúllus, Neck. elem. bot. no. 389. 
Melópepo, Tourn. inst. p. 106. t. 34. Pèpo, Tourn. |. c. p. 105. 
t. 33. 
Lin. syst. Monoécia, Monadélphia. Flowers monoecious. 
Corolla campanulate, yellow ; petals joined together and to the 
calyx. Male flowers. Calyx hemispherically campanulate. 
Stamens 5, in 3 bundles, or joined at the apex ; anthers ab- 
ruptly curved, both at the base and the apex, the rest straight 
and parallel. Female flowers. Calyx obovate-clavate, nar- 
rowed towards the top, or campanulate, and always circumcised 
under the limb after flowering. Anthers usually sterile. Stig- 
mas 3, thickish, 2-lobed. Fruit 3-5-celled. Seeds ovate, com- 
pressed, with hardly tumid margins. 
1 C. ma’xima (Duch. in Lam. dict. 2. p. 151.) leaves cordate, 
very rugged; petioles hispid; tube of calyx obovate, ending, 
in a short neck; fruit globose, somewhat depressed, yellow, 
red, or green. ©.F. Native country unknown. Tourn. inst. 
p. 106. no. 2. t. 34. Lob. icon. 641. f. 2, Cuctrbita Potiro, 
Pers. ench. 2. p. 593. 
Var.a, Potiro (Ser in D. C. prod. 3. p. 316.) stems very long, 
climbing; tendrils strong; fruit large, yellow, or orange-co- 
loured, hollow at maturity. Common yellow gourd, potiron 
jaune commun, gourge of the French. The shells of the fruit 
are generally used for holding water. 
Var. B, viridis (Ser. in D. C. prod. 3. p. 316.) stems very 
long, climbing ; fruit green, large, hollow at maturity. Large 
green gourd. Gros potiron vert of the French. The shells of 
the fruit of this sort are also used as calabashes. 
Var. y, Gotrgero (Ser. diss. in mem. soc. gen. vol. 3. pt. 2. 
t. 1.) stems assurgent, dwarf; nodes close ; tendrils abortive ; 
leaves ovate, cordate, 3-5-lobed, somewhat cochleate; lobes 
narrow ; fruit small, green, or yellow, full at maturity. Gour- 
geron or petit potiron vert. 
Large Hollow Gourd. FI. Jul. Aug. Clt.? Pl. cl. or tr. 
2 C. mELÓPEPO (Lin. spec. 1435.) leaves cordate, obtuse, 
somewhat 5-lobed, denticulated ; tendrils usually transformed 
into very imperfect leaves; calyx hemispherically campanulate, 
short, having the throat much dilated ; fruit depressed; carpels 
irregular, rising beyond the throat of the calyx; flesh dry, 
spongy, white; ceils 4-5. ©. F. Native country unknown. 
Willd. spec. 4. p.610. C. polymérpha Melópepo, Duch. in 
Lam. dict. 1. p. 157.—Bauh. hist. 2. p. 224. with a figure. 
Pépo maximus clypeatus, Mor. hist. 1, sect. 1. t. 8. Fruit 
flatted at both ends. It is of great use in long voyages, for it 
can be kept several months in a fresh state, and is commonly 
made into pies, like the pumpkin, or boiled and eaten with meat 
instead of turnips or potatoes. Bonnet d’electeur, bonnet de 
prétre, and pastisson of the French. 
Squash Gourd. Fl. May, Sept. Clt. 1597. Pl. tr. 
3 C. moscna‘ta (Duch. ex dict. scienc. nat. 11. p. 234.) 
corolla campanulate, very narrow at the base ; leaves soft, to- 
mentose ; fruit oval or spherical, depressed; flesh yellow or 
orange-coloured, musky. ©. F. Native of Martinique. C. 
Indica rotinda, Dalech. hist. 616. f. 3. 
XVIII. CUCURBITA. 
Musky Gourd. Fl. June, Aug. Clt.? Pl. tr. 
4 C. ceratocreas (Mart. reise, in bras. ex Linnea. 5. p. 
39.) leaves cordate, nearly orbicular, bluntly somewhat 5-lobed, 
denticulated ; fruit large, oblong-pear-shaped, or cylindrical, 
lined longitudinally, glabrous ; flesh suberanular. ©.F. Na- 
tive of Brazil. ` 
Horned-fruited Cucurbita. Pl. tr. 
5 C. virzdsa (Blum. bijdr. p. 931.) leaves roundish, cordate, 
5-lobed, scabrous; lobes acute, sinuately denticulated; pedun- 
cles 1-flowered, those of the male longer than those of the female 
flowers ; fruit oblong, villous. ©.F. Gathered in the gardens 
in the East Indies. By the Javanese it is called Baligo. 
Villous Gourd. Pl. tr. 
6 C. Ps‘po (Lin. spec. 1435.) leaves cordate, obtuse, some- 
what 5-lobed, denticulated ; calyx ending in a neck beneath the 
limb; fruit roundish or oblong, smooth. ©.F. Native of the 
Levant. C. polymérpha oblonga, Duch. in Lam. dict. 2. p. 155. 
This species is called Pumpkin and pompion, in English ; Girau- 
mon, Citrouille iroquoise, gourge de Saint Jean in French ; Popone 
in Italian, There are several varieties of pompion, but the most 
striking are the two following : 
Var. a, subrotinda (Willd. spec. 4. p. 609.) fruit roundish. 
C. major subrotiinda, &e. Bauh. pin. 213. 
Var. B, oblénga (Willd. 1. c.) fruit oblong. Pépo obléngus, 
Bauh. pin. p. 311. 
The pumpkin is the melon or millon of our early horticul- 
turists, the true melon being formerly distinguished by the name 
of musk melon. Though commonly cultivated in gardens for 
curiosity, yet in some country villages in England, the inhabit- 
ants grow it on dunghills, and train the shoots to a great length 
on the grass. When the fruit is ripe, they cut a hole on one side, 
and having taken out the seeds, fill the void space with sliced 
apples, adding a little sugar and spice, and then having baked 
the whole, eat it with butter. On the Continent, as well as in 
many other parts of the world, the fruit is a good deal used in 
soups, and also stewed or fried in oil or butter. Pumpkin-pie is 
also very common in many parts of the world. 
Modes of dressing some varielies of the gourd.—Mr. Crichton 
(Cal. mem. vol. 4.) prefers the cheese-gourd, some of which have 
weighed with him 1 ewt., and the vegetable marrow ; but he 
very judiciously attaches much more importance to the kind of 
cooking than to the variety cultivated. He therefore subjoins 
two receipts for the use of the cheese-gourd, and one for veget- 
able marrow. 
To make soup of cheese-gourd.—Take the fleshy part of the 
gourd when ripe, and cut it into small pieces; put it into a pan 
with a small bit of butter, set upon a slow fire until it melt 
down to a puré; then add milk, in the proportion of half a 
gallon to 4 lbs. of gourd, let it boil a short time with a little 
salt and sugar, enough to make it taste a little sweet ; then cut 
some slices of bread very thin, toast them very well, and cut them 
into small dice, put them in a dish, and pour the puré ove! 
them, and serve it up. 
Cheese-gourd dressed in the Spanish way.—When ripe cut the 
fleshy part into slices about half an inch, score it across into 
small dice about half through on one side of the slices; scrape 
a little of the fat of bacon, and put it into a saucepan, with a 
little parsley, shallots, and mushrooms chopped very small, 
adding a little salt and pepper; put them on a slow fire to fry 
a little, and place this seasoning upon the cut sides of the gour 
slices. Put the whole into a quick oven, with a little butter O! 
olive oil, and when baked a little serve up in a dish. 
Pumpkin or Pompion. Fl. June, Aug. Clt. 1570. Pl. tr. 
7 C. rartnosa (Blume, bijdr. p. 931.) leaves roundish, cor- 
date, rather angularly 7-lobed, a little strigose; lobes acumin- 
ated, toothed; peduncles 1-flowered ; fruit oblong, large, covere 
with a kind of glaucous mealiness. ©.F. Native of Java, in. 
