Cucurbita foetidissima

Cucurbita foetidissima
Buffalo gourds in Puente Hills
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Cucurbitales
Family:	Cucurbitaceae
Genus:	Cucurbita
Species:	C. foetidissima
Binomial name
Cucurbita foetidissima

Cucurbita foetidissima (buffalo gourd, calabazilla, chilicote, coyote gourd, fetid gourd, Missouri gourd, stinking gourd, wild gourd, wild pumpkin) is a xerophytic tuberous plant found in the southwestern USA and northwestern Mexico. A member of the cucumber family, the fruit is consumed by humans and animals. The fruit is eaten cooked like a squash when very young. As the fruit becomes fully mature, it is too bitter for humans to eat. When the fruit is mature -- a stage marked by increasing desiccation of vine, leaves, fruit-stem, and fruit itself -- it begins its final gourd stage (see Notes below). It grows fast, requiring little water, including an often massive underground tuber that has been the object of proposals to grow the plant for fuel^[1] or biofuel such as ethanol^[2].

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  Staminate (male) flower

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  Mature Cucurbita foetidissima fruit (Austin, Texas).

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  Mature fruit

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  Interior view (Newport Beach Back Bay, California).

References

1. ^ Smeal, D. (1997). "Carbohydrate biofuels. III. Consumptive-use and root yield of buffalo gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima HBK)". Fuel and Energy Abstracts 38 (5): 325. doi:10.1016/S0140-6701(97)81177-0. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/els/01406701/1997/00000038/00000005/art81177;jsessionid=2cm9cfbwhaukl.alexandra. Retrieved 2008-08-22. 
2. ^ Blume, David (2007). Alcohol Can Be a Gas! Fueling an Ethanol Revolution for the 21st Century. The International Institute For Ecological Agriculture. 

Notes

• The gourd of C. foetidissima, like the fruit most species of the genus, within five to eight months becomes lighter by drying, assisted by various molds on its surface that subsist partly on the moisture extracted from the fruit's rind. The interior filaments that support the seeds also dry out and in most gourds release the seeds, which may rattle when the gourd is agitated. The seeds often remain viable for months or even years within an undamaged gourd. Various insects may penetrate the hard skin, although the external molds appear to prevent damage by most insects, so the skin may become hard enough to take a polish. White molds seem to result in smooth surface areas and black molds often form circular patterns. The hardened rind or "shell" of individual varieties may be thin and brittle or quite thick and durable.

This Cucurbitales article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · edit] Notes Gourd: Within five to eight months the gourd becomes lighter by drying, assisted by various molds on its surface that subsist partly on the moisture extracted from the fruit's skin. The interior filaments that support the seeds also dry out and in most gourds release the seeds, which may rattle when the gourd is agitated. The seeds often remain viable for months or even years within an undamaged gourd. Various insects may penetrate the hard skin, although the external molds appear to prevent damage by most insects, so the skin may become hard enough to take a polish. White molds seem to result in smooth surface areas and black molds often form circular patterns. The "shell" of even individual varieties may be thin and brittle or quite thick and durable. Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат Ever Free Cutler's bar notation Look at other dictionaries: Cucurbita foetidissima — Cucurbita foetidissima …   Wikipédia en Français Cucurbita foetidissima — Cucurbita foetidissima, männliche Blüte Systematik Rosiden …   Deutsch Wikipedia Cucurbita foetidissima — Cucurbita foetidissima …   Wikipédia en Français Cucurbita foetidissima — prerijinis moliūgas statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Moliūginių šeimos aliejinis, maistinis, pašarinis, vaistinis augalas (Cucurbita foetidissima), paplitęs Šiaurės Amerikoje. Iš jo gaunamas krakmolas, gaminami kuro pakaitalai (alkoholis).… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas) Cucurbita foetidissima — ID 23585 Symbol Key CUFO Common Name Missouri gourd Family Cucurbitaceae Category Dicot Division Magnoliophyta US Nativity Native to U.S. US/NA Plant Yes State Distribution AR, AZ, CA, CO, FL, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MI, MO, NE, NM, NV, OH, OK, TX,… …   USDA Plant Characteristics Cucurbita foetidissima — noun perennial vine of dry parts of central and southwestern United States and Mexico having small hard mottled green inedible fruit • Syn: ↑prairie gourd, ↑prairie gourd vine, ↑Missouri gourd, ↑wild pumpkin, ↑buffalo gourd, ↑calabazilla •… …   Useful english dictionary Cucurbita foetidissima — …   Википедия Cucurbita foetidissima Kunth — Symbol CUFO Common Name Missouri gourd Botanical Family Cucurbitaceae …   Scientific plant list Cucurbita — Sample of Cucurbita Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae …   Wikipedia Cucurbita — Cucurbita …   Wikipédia en Français 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”