Cucurbita maxima
| Cucurbita maxima | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 9 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 2' |
| Width: | 16' |
| Speed: | Fast |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Early Fall |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Cucurbita maxima (common name: winter squash)
Propagation: Seed - sow early to mid spring in a greenhouse in a rich soil. Germination should take place within 2 weeks. Sow 2 or 3 seeds per pot and thin out to the best plant. Grow them on fast and plant out after the last expected frosts, giving them cloche or frame protection for at least their first few weeks if you are trying them outdoors.
Cultivation: Requires a rich, well-drained moisture retentive soil and a very warm, sunny and sheltered position[1][2]. Prefers a pH of 5.5 to 5.9, but tolerates up to 6.8[2]. Dry periods with a relatively low humidity favour the best growth[3].
A frost-tender annual plant, it is widely cultivated in tropical and temperate zones for its edible fruit, there are very many named varieties differing considerably in their fruits[4]. Most of the winter squashes derive from this species, including Hubbard, Butternut, Acorn, Argentine and Boston[2]. Many forms require a temperature range of 20 - 27°c during the growing season, but there are some forms that tolerate cooler conditions and these succeed outdoors most years in Britain[3][K]. Most cultivars are relatively insensitive to day-length[3].
Squashes and pumpkins can be differentiated from each other by their fruit stalk, it is angular and polygonal in pumpkins but thick, soft and round in squashes[5].
This species hybridizes readily with C. andreana but can only be crossed with other species under controlled conditions[2][6]. Some modern works see C. andreana as being no more than a subspecies of this species, classifying it as C. maxima andreana (Naudin.)Filov.
Grows well with sweetcorn and thornapple but dislikes potatoes[7][8].
Range: Origin is obscure, possibly derived in cultivation from C. andreana.
Habitat: Not known in the wild.
Edibility: Fruit - cooked[9][10][11][12]. A delicious flavour when baked, rather like a sweet potato[K]. The flesh can be dried, ground into a powder and used with cereals in making bread, cakes etc[13][4]. Some varieties can be stored for up to 9 months.
Seed - raw or cooked[13][14][4]. Rich in oil with a very pleasant nutty flavour but very fiddly to use because the seed is small and covered with a fibrous coat[K]. The seed can also be ground into a powder and used with cereals in making breads etc[4].
An oil is obtained from the seed[15][2].
Young flowers - raw or cooked[13][6][4]. They are often dipped in batter and fried.
Young leaves and stems - cooked[6][4]. The leaves contain up to 5% protein[4].
Medicinal: The seeds are diuretic, tonic and vermifuge[13][16][17]. The complete seed, together with the husk, is used as a vermifuge. This is ground into a fine flour, then made into an emulsion with water and eaten. It is then necessary to take a purgative afterwards in order to expel the tapeworms or other parasites from the body[13]. As a remedy for internal parasites, the seeds are less potent than the root of Dryopteris felix-mas, but they are safer for pregnant women, debilitated patients and children[18].
The oil from the seed is used as a nerve tonic[17].
The fruit pulp is used as a soothing poultice on burns, inflammations and boils[17].
Usage: The seed contains 34 - 54% of a semi-drying oil[19][2]. Used for lighting[15].
A nourishing face-mask can be made from the fruit that is effective for dry skins[13].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Monoecious
Known Hazards: The sprouting seed produces a toxic substance in its embryo[20].
Links
References
- ↑ Thompson, Robert. The Gardener's Assistant. Blackie and Son, 1878.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Organ, John. Gourds. Faber, 1963.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Corbetta, Francisco. The COmplete Book of Fruits and Vegetables. 1985.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Royal Horticultural Society. The Plantsman Vol. 8. 1986 - 1987. Royal Horticultural Society, 1986.
- ↑ Philbrick, Helen and Richard Gregg. Companion Plants. Watkins, 1979.
- ↑ Riotte, Louise. Carrots Love Tomatoes. Garden Way, 1978.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Vilmorin-Andrieux. The Vegetable Garden. Ten Speed Press.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Towle, Margaret. The Ethnobotany of Pre-Columbian Peru.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 Chiej, Roberto. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald, 1984.
- ↑ Schery. Robert. Plants for Man. Prentice Hall, 1972.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ RHS. The Garden Volume 112. Royal Horticultural Society, 1987.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.
- ↑ Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Frohne, Dietrich and Hans Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Timber Press, 1984.