CUCURBITACEAE the gourd family

•Cucurbitaceae, the gourd family of flowering plants,

belonging to the order Cucurbitales and containing 98
genera and about 975 species of food and ornamental
plants.
• Members of the family are annual or perennial herbs
native to temperate and tropical areas and include
cucumbers, gourds, melons, squashes, and pumpkins.
•Most species are extremely sensitive to temperatures near
freezing, a factor that limits their geographic distribution
and area of cultivation.
•Cucurbits have a generally low nutrient content, one
exception being the winter squashes (certain varieties of
Cucurbita maxima, C. moschata, and C. pepo).
•Most species are fast-growing prostrate or climbing vines
with long-stalked palmate leaves that alternate along the
stem.
•At the side of the leafstalk in annual species there is a
simple, often branched, spirally coiled tendril.
•It is generally regarded by most botanists to be a
modified shoot and serves to support the vining stems.
•Most species have unisexual flowers that are borne in the
leaf axils and have five white or yellow petals.
•There are five sepals in each flower; male flowers have up
to five anthers, often fused or joined in a complex way,
and female flowers usually have three carpels.
oKnown as a pepo, the fruit in most species is a fleshy
many-seeded berry with a tough rind, often attaining
considerable size.
oThe seeds are flattened and some, such as those
produced by the Javan cucumber (Alsomitra macrocarpa),
have beautiful wings to aid in dispersal.
•There are five sepals in each flower; male flowers have up
to five anthers, often fused or joined in a complex way,
and female flowers usually have three carpels.

Economical Importance:
This family is particularly important economically because
its fruits are edible.
Distribution of Cucurbitaceae:
It is commonly called gourd family. The family has 110
genera and 850 species out of which 86 species are found
in India. The members are chiefly inhabitants of tropical
regions; a few in temperate regions. The members are
wanting in the colder regions.
Cucurbita – squash, pumpkin, zucchini, some gourds
Lagenaria – mostly inedible gourds
Citrullus – watermelon (C. lanatus, C. colocynthis) and others
Cucumis – cucumber (C. sativus), various melons
Luffa – patola
•Cucurbita species fall into two main groups. The first
group are annual or short-lived perennial vines and
are mesophytic, i.e. they require a more or less
continuous water supply. The second group
are perennials growing in arid zones and so
are xerophytic, tolerating dry conditions.
Cultivated Cucurbita species were derived from the
first group.
•Growing 5 to 15 meters (16 to 49 ft) in height or
length, the plant stem produces tendrils to help it
climb adjacent plants and structures or extend along
the ground.
The typical cultivated Cucurbita species has five-
lobed or palmately divided leaves with long petioles,
with the leaves alternately arranged on the stem.
The stems in some species are angular. All of the
above-ground parts may be hairy with various types
of trichomes, which are often hardened and sharp.
Spring-like tendrils grow from each node and are
branching in some species.