250 



CUCURBITACEAE. 



[Vol. hi. 



i. CUCURBITA L. Sp. PI. 1010. 1753. 



Rough prostrate vines, rooting at the nodes, with branched tendrils, usually lobed leaves 

 mostly cordate at the base, and large yellow axillary monoecious flowers. Calyx-tube cam- 

 panulate, usually 5-lobed. Corolla canrpanulate, 5-lobed to about the middle, the lobes re- 

 curving. Staminate flowers with three stamens, the anthers linear, more or less united and 

 no pistil. Pistillate flowers with 1 pistil; ovary oblong with 3-5 many-ovuled placentae; 

 style short, thick; stigmas 3-5, each 2-lobed, papillose; staminodia 3. Fruit large, fleshy, 

 with a thick rind, many-seeded, indehiscent. [The Latin name of the gourd.] 



About 10 species, natives of America, Asia and Africa. Besides the following, some 6 others 

 occur in the southern and southwestern United States. 



Missouri Gourd 

 (Fig. 3485.) 

 123. 



Calabazilla. Wild 



1. Cucurbita foetidissima H.B.K. 



Pumpkin. 



Cucurbita foetidissima H.B.K. Nov. Gen. 2: 



1817. 

 Cucumis perennis James in Long's Exp. 2: 20. 1823. 

 Cucurbita perennis A. Gray, Bost. Journ. Nat. Hist. 



6: 193. 1850. 



Stem stout, rough, hirsute, trailing to a length 

 of i5-25. Root large, carrot-shaped. Petioles 

 stout, 3' -8' long, very rough; leaves ovate-tri- 

 angular, thick and somewhat fleshy, cordate or 

 truncate at the base, acute at the apex, 4 / -i2 / 

 long, usually slightly 3-5-lobed, denticulate, 

 rough above, canescent beneath; peduncles l / - 

 2 / long; flowers mostly solitary; corolla ly^'-i/ 

 long; pepo globose or globose-ovoid, 2 / -3 / in 

 diameter, smooth, its pulp fibrous and bitter. 



Dry soil, Nebraska to Texas and Mexico, west to 

 southern California. May-Sept. 



Cucurbita Pepo L., the Pumpkin, is found occa- 

 sionally in waste places. 



Citrullus Citriillus (L-) Karst.,the Watermelon, is 

 found escaped from cultivation along river-shores 

 in Virginia and West Virginia. 



2. MELOTHRIA L. Sp. PL 35. 1753. 

 Slender, mostly climbing vines, with simple or rarely bifid tendrils, lobed or entire thin 

 leaves, and small white or yellow monoecious flowers, the staminate clustered, the pistillate 

 often solitary. Calyx campanulate, 5-toothed. Corolla campanulate, deeply 5-parted. 

 Stamens 3 in the staminate flowers, the anthers distinct or slightly united, the pistil want- 

 ing or rudimentary. Fertile flowers with 1 pistil; ovary ovoid, constricted below the corolla; 

 placentae 3; ovules numerous; style short; stigmas 3, linear. Fruit small, berry-like, pulpy, 

 many-seeded. [From the Greek for some vine, probably Bryonia Cretica."\ 



About 64 species, natives of warm and tropical regions, most abundant in the Old World. Only 

 the following occurs in the United States. 



i. Melothria pendula L. Creeping Cucumber. 

 (Fig. 3486.) 



Melothria pendula L- Sp. PI. 35. 1753. 



Root perennial. Stem slender, climbing to a height 

 of 3-5, branched, glabrous, grooved; petioles % / -2}i f 

 long; leaves nearly orbicular in outline, finely pubescent 

 or scabrous on both sides, cordate at the base, 5-lobed or 

 5-angled, denticulate or dentate; tendrils puberulent; 

 staminate flowers 4-7, racemose, borne on a peduncle 

 ^ / -i / long; fertile flowers solitary, slender-peduncled; 

 corolla greenish white, about 1" broad; fruit smooth, 

 ovoid, green, 4 // -6 // long. 



In thickets, Pennsylvania (Schweinitz, according to Cog- 

 niaux); Virginia to Florida, west to Indiana, Kentucky, 

 Louisiana and northern Mexico. June-Sept. 



