![]() You can experiment by growing different types each year and then spend the winter enjoying what you've grown. There is a gourd variety for every taste and every size of garden. Bottle gourds are more likely to be sold as individual varieties. For example, you can "big gourd," "small gourd" or "daisy gourd" mixes that include lots of shapes, sizes, and colors. Seed manufacturers usually sell seeds in assorted mixes that combine different types of gourds. Many of the gourds with warty skins and unusual colors are varieties of the Cucurbita pepo species, but there is also another species in a related genus, Lagenaria siceraria, which include smooth-skinned varieties that go by the common name "bottle gourd." These are thin-skinned gourds that are often used as dippers or for containers like birdhouses. They are used ornamentally, rather than in cooking. The plants we know as gourds are just forms of squash that aren't very tasty but do have unusual, attractive shapes, sizes, or textures. All are quite easy for beginners to grow. pepo or a related squash species in a different genus, Lagunaria siceraria.Ĭonfused yet? No worries: Here are eight types of squash that are worth your while. The various non-edible gourds are usually members of C. This list of gourds and squashes provides an alphabetical list of (mostly edible) varieties (cultivars) of the plant genus Cucurbita, commonly called gourds. Most are members of Cucurbita pepo, but some fall into other squash species.Īnd don't forget gourds, which is an assigned name for a whole group of squashes that aren't all that good for eating but have fascinating knobby, lumpy, and colorful shells. Then there are pumpkins, which is just a fancy name for a type of round winter squash that happens to have an orange color and a thick rind that makes it good for carving. Several species comprise the winter squash group, but most are found in Cucurbita maxium and Cucurbita moschata. This class includes squash with names like butternut, Hubbard, acorn, and spaghetti squash. Virtually all of these summer squashes are just genetic variations of the same species, Curbita pepo.Ī whole other class of squashes is known as winter squash, so-called because they are eaten when fully ripe in the fall and tend to have thicker shells that allow them to keep on the shelf for several weeks or months. Zucchini and similar types are known as summer squash because they are typically picked and eaten when partially ripe in the summer. Last, but not least, in the squash family are inedible gourds, a decorative addition to the garden. Winter squash includes pumpkins, acorn, butternut, and Hubbard. Summer squashes in the same species carry names like yellow squash, crookneck, narrow neck, pattypan, cousa, tatume, tromboncino, and zephyr. Zucchini is a summer squash, but not all summer squash are zucchinis. There are summer squash, winter squash, and gourds. The world of squash can be a confusing one since there are so many types with names that are sometimes used interchangeably. The Spruce Home Improvement Review Board.
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