Knowra Cucurbitaceae Cucurbitaceae Cucurbitaceae is a flowering-plant family of mostly climbing or trailing herbs, including cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, squashes, and gourds. Its members typically bear separate male and female flowers and fleshy fruits.
Cucurbit : A plant in the family Cucurbitaceae, including cucumbers, melons, squashes, and gourds. This broader common name groups the family’s cultivated and wild members.
Cucumber : A cultivated cucurbit grown for its elongated, usually green fruit. It is one of the family’s most widely eaten vegetables.
Cucurbitales : An order of flowering plants that includes Cucurbitaceae and several other families. Cucurbitaceae is one branch within this broader flowering-plant order.
Three Sisters : An Indigenous American intercropping system combining maize, beans, and squash. Squash from this family formed one part of a complementary food-growing system.
Unisexual flower : A flower containing functional stamens or carpels, but not both. Many cucurbits produce separate male and female flowers on one plant.
Watermelon : A cultivated cucurbit whose large fruit has sweet, water-rich flesh. Its domestication illustrates the family’s selection for edible fruit traits.
Cucurbitoideae : A large subfamily of Cucurbitaceae containing many familiar cultivated genera. Many food crops, including cucumbers and melons, belong to this subfamily.
Cucurbit pollination : The transfer of pollen among cucurbit flowers, commonly by bees and other insects. Pollinator activity often determines whether cultivated plants produce marketable fruit.
Inferior ovary : An ovary positioned below the attachment points of other floral parts. This floral structure contributes to the characteristic fruit development of many cucurbits.
Pumpkin : A cultivated squash with rounded fruit, commonly associated with species of Cucurbita. Pumpkins show how diverse fruit forms emerged within cultivated cucurbits.
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