Cucurbita

Cucurbita est genus herbacearum scansoriarum familiae Cucurbitacearum, in Andibus et Mesoamerica indigenarum. Ex quibus quinque species per orbem terrarum propter fructus edules, qui cucurbitae, pepones, gurdaeve appellantur, et propter semina, coluntur. Primum in America excultae, deinde in Europam ab exploratoribus Novi Mundi reportatae, nunc in multis locis sunt magni fontes cibi humani et olei.

Fructus Cucurbitae variis magnitudinibus

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Plantae — Magnoliophyta

Classis : Magnoliopsida 
Ordo : Cucurbitales 
Familia : Cucurbitaceae 
Genus : Cucurbita 
L.

   

Synonyma

*Mellonia Gasp.

• Melopepo Mill.
• Ozodycus Raf.
• Pepo Mill.
• Pileocalyx Gasp.
• Sphenantha Schrad.
• Tristemon Scheele 1848, homonym illegitimum, neque Raf. 1819 (Juncaginaceae) nec Raf. 1838 (Juncaceae) nec Klotzsch 1838 (Ericaceae)

Plantae facie et usu similes, eiusdem familiae ac Cucurbita, Veteris Mundi indigenae, sunt generum Lagenariae, Citrulli, ac Cucumis. Hae erant cucurbitae, melones, peponesque Romanis antiquis notae.

Species utiliores, late cultae, sunt Cucurbita maxima in America australi domesticata, C. moschata et C. pepo media in America domitae. Alicubi C. argyrosperma, C. ficifolia, rarius aliae species coluntur. Colonus Thomas Harriot, in Virginia saeculo XVI exeunte profectus, species plures huius generis ab indigenis cultas visit: erant cuius fructus unum mensem, erant qui duos menses maturabant.

Hodie in Civitatibus Foederatis pepones Americani in Pervigilio Omnium Sanctorum publice ostenduntur.

Bibliographia

Cucurbitae in radiis solis fulgent

Fontes antiquiores

• 1588 : Thomas Hariot, A briefe and true report of the new found land of Virginia, of the commodities there found and to be raysed .... Londinii Textus editionis fac-simile 1903
• 1597 : John Gerard, The Herball, or generall historie of plantes. Londinii: John Norton pp. 772-775
• 1753 : Carolus Linnaeus, Species plantarum (Holmiae: impensis L. Salvii, 1753) vol. 2 p. 1010 (Latine)
• 1786 : Antoine Nicolas Duchesne, Essai sur l'histoire naturel des courges (1786)

Eruditio

• Sophie D. Coe, America's First Cuisines (Austinopoli: University of Texas Press, 1994) pp. 37-41
• Jules Janick, Harry S. Paris, "The Cucurbit Images (1515–1518) of the Villa Farnesina, Rome" in Annals of Botany vol. 97 (2006) pp. 165-176
• Justine Woodard McKnight, “A Study of Native American Plant Use, based on a review of early historic comments on subsistence and technology” in Charles LeeDecker et al., Archaeology of the Puncheon Run Site (Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation, 2004/2005) vol. 2 pp. E1-E123