40 



CUCURBITACEiE. XVIII. CUCURBITA. 



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. Clt. 1825. PI. 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. 147S. 

 Juss. gen. p. 396. Gsertn. fruct. 2. p. 49. t. 88. f. 5. exclusive 

 of C. Lagenaria of authors. Citrullus, Neck. elem. bot. no. 389, 

 Melopepo, Tourn. inst. p. 106. t. 34. Pepo, Tourn. 1. c. p. 105. 

 t. 33. 



LIN. SYST. Monoecia, Monadelj.hia. 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. diet. 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. 0.F. Native country unknown. Tourn. inst. 

 p. 106. no. 2. t. 34. Lob. icon. 641. f. 2. Cucurbita Potiro, 

 Pers. ench. 2. p. 593. 



Far. 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. /3, 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. 



Far. y, Guurgero (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. Fl. Jul. Aug. Clt. ? PI. cl. or tr. 



2 C. MELOPEPO (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; cells 4-5. O- F. Native country unknown. 

 Willd. spec. 4. p. 610. C. polymorpha Melopepo, Duel), in 

 Lam. diet. 1. p. 157. Bauh. hist. 2. p. 224. with a figure. 

 Pepo 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 

 pretre, and pastisson of the French. 



Squash Gourd. Fl. May, Sept. Clt. 1597. PI. tr. 



3 C. MOSCHA'TA (Duch. ex diet, 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. 

 1'ndica rotunda, Dalech. hist. 616. f. 3. 



Musky Gourd. Fl. June, Aug. Clt. ? PI. tr. 



4 C. CERATOCREAS (Mart, reise, in bras, ex Linnaea. 5. p. 

 39.) leaves cordate, nearly orbicular, bluntly somewhat 5-lobed, 

 denticulated ; fruit large, oblong-pear-shaped, or cylindrical, 

 lined longitudinally, glabrous ; flesh subgranular. O- F. Na- 

 tive of Brazil. 



Horned- fruited Cucurbita. PI. tr. 



5 C. VILLOSA (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. Q. F. Gathered in the gardens 

 in the East Indies. By the Javanese it is called Baligo. 



Villous Gourd. PI. tr. 



6 C. PE V 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. O- F. Native of the 

 Levant. C. polymorpha oblonga, Duch. in Lam. diet. 2. p. 155. 

 This species is called Pumpkin and pompion, in English ; Girau- 

 mon, Cilrouille 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, subrotunda (Willd. spec. 4. p. 609.) fruit roundish. 

 C. major subrotunda, &c. Bauh. pin v 213. 



/ ar. /3, oblonga (Willd. 1. c.) fruit oblong. Pepo oblongus, 

 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 varieties of the gourd. Mr. Crichton 

 (Cal. mem. vol. 4.) prefers the cheese-gourd, some of which have 

 weighed with him 1 cwt., 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 pure ; then add milk, in the proportion of half 

 gallon to 4 Ibs. 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 >.bem 

 into small dice, put them in a dish, and pour the pure over 

 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 gourd 

 slices. Put the whole into a quick oven, with a little butter or 

 olive oil, and when baked a little serve up in a dish. 



Pumpkin or Pompion. Fl. June, Aug. Clt. 1570. PL tr. 



7 C. FARINOSA (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, covered 

 with a kind of glaucous mealiness. F. Native of Java, in 



