Cucurbita pepo

Cucurbita pepo
Assorted cultivars, from top-left, clockwise: pattypan squash, yellow summer squash, a large zucchini (or marrow), and pumpkins
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Cucurbitales
Family:	Cucurbitaceae
Genus:	Cucurbita
Species:	C. pepo
Binomial name
Cucurbita pepo L.
Subspecies
Cucurbita pepo subsp. fraterna Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo Cucurbita pepo subsp. texana
Synonyms
Citrullus variegatus Schrad. ex M.Roem. Cucumis pepo (L.) Dumort. Cucumis zapallo Steud. Cucurbita aurantia Willd. Cucurbita ceratoceras Haberle ex Mart. Cucurbita clodiensis Nocca Cucurbita courgero Ser. Cucurbita elongata Bean ex Schrad. Cucurbita esculenta Gray Cucurbita fastuosa Salisb. Cucurbita grisea M.Roem. Cucurbita hybrida Bertol. ex Naudin Cucurbita lignosa Mill. Cucurbita mammeata Molina Cucurbita mammosa J.F.Gmel. Cucurbita marsupiiformis Haberle ex M.Roem. [Invalid] Cucurbita melopepo L. Cucurbita oblonga Link Cucurbita polymorpha Duchesne Cucurbita pomiformis M.Roem. Cucurbita pyridaris Duchesne ex Poir. Cucurbita pyxidaris DC. Cucurbita subverrucosa Willd. Cucurbita succado Nägeli ex Naudin Cucurbita succedo Arn. Cucurbita tuberculosa Schrad. Cucurbita urnigera Schrad. Cucurbita variegata Steud. Cucurbita venosa Descourt. Cucurbita verrucosa L. Pepo citrullus Sageret Pepo potiron Sageret Pepo vulgaris Moench

Cucurbita pepo is a cultivated plant of the genus Cucurbita. It yields varieties of winter squash and pumpkin, but the most widespread varieties belong to Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo, called summer squash.

It has been domesticated in the New World for thousands of years. Some authors maintain that C. pepo is derived from C. texana, while others suggest that C. texana is merely feral C. pepo. They have a wide variety of uses, especially as a food source and for medical conditions. C. pepo seems more closely related to C. fraterna, though disagreements exist about the exact nature of that connection, too.

The morphological differences within the species C. pepo are so vast, its various subspecies and cultivars have been misidentified as totally separate species. These vast differences are rooted in its widespread geographic distribution.C. pepo is one of the oldest, if not the oldest domesticated species. The oldest known locations are in southern Mexico in Oaxaca 8,000-10,000 years ago and Ocampo, Tamaulipas, Mexico about 7,000 years ago. Its ancient territory extended north into Texas and up the Greater Mississippi River Valley into Illinois and east to Florida, and possibly even to Maine. It is known to have appeared in Missouri at least 4,000 years ago. Some varieties grow in arid regions and some in moist regions.

Debates about the origin of C. pepo have been going on since at least 1857. Traditionally, two opposing theories are given about its origin: 1) C. pepo is a direct descendant of C. texana and 2) C. texana is feral C. pepo. A more recent theory is that is that C.pepo is a descendant of C. fraterna and hybridized with C. texana; resulting in two distinct domestication events in two different areas: one in Mexico and one in the eastern United States, with C. fraterna and C. texana, respectively, as the ancestral species.C. pepo may have appeared in the Old World prior to moving from Mexico into South America.

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Wikipedia