384 Cucurbitaceae 



Family 93. CUCURBITACEAE. GOURD FAMILY. 



Herbaceous vines, climbing or trailing by means of 

 tendrils, with alternate petioled leaves, and solitary or 

 racemose monoecious or dioecious flowers. Calyx-tube 

 adnate to the ovary, its limb usually 5-lobed. Petals 

 usually 5, inserted on the limb of the calyx, separate or 

 united. Stamens mostly 3, 2 of them with 2-celled 

 anthers, the other with a 1-celled anther ; filaments 

 short, often somewhat united. Ovary 1-3-celled ; style 

 simple or lobed ; ovules few or numerous. Fruit a pepo, 

 indehiscent or rarely dehiscent at the summit, or burst- 

 ing irregularly. Seeds usually flat. 



Flowers yellow, large; fruit indehiscent, smooth. 1. CUCURBITA. 



Flowers white or greenish, small; fruit dehiscent at summit, prickly. 



2. MlCRAMPELIS. 



1. CUCURBITA L. 



Rough prostrate vines, rooting at the nodes, with 

 branched tendrils, usually lobed leaves which are often 

 cordate at the base, and large yellow axillary monoecious 

 flowers. Calyx-tube campanulate, usually 5-lobed. Co- 

 rolla campanulate, 5-lobed to about the middle, the 

 lobes recurving. Staminate flowers with 3 stamens, the 

 anthers linear, more or less united. Pistillate flowers 

 with 1 pistil ; ovary oblong, with 3-5 many-ovuled pla- 

 centae ; style short, thick ; stigmas 35, each 2-lobed, 

 papillose ; staminodia 3. Fruit large fleshy, with a 

 thick rind, many-seeded, indehiscent. 



1. C. foetidissima H. B. K. (CALABAZILLA or MOCK-ORANGE.) 

 Stems stout, rough, hirsute, trailing to a length of 2-5 m. ; root 

 very large, carrot-shaped; leaves ovate-triangular, cordate or 

 truncate at the base, acute at the apex, 1-3 dm. long, denticulate, 

 usually slightly 3-5-lobed, rough above, canescent beneath, on 

 stout petioles, 8-15 cm. long; peduncles 2.5-5 cm. long; flowers 

 mostly solitary; corolla 7-10 cm. long; pepo globose, 5-10 cm. in 

 diameter, smooth. 



Frequent on dry sandy soil throughout our range. 



