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Gourds

Cucurbitaceae (family), “Cucurbits”, “The Gourd Family”

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The Cucurbitaceae, also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family consisting of about 965 species in around 95 genera, of which the most important to humans are: Cucurbita – squash, pumpkin, zucchini, some gourds Lagenaria – calabash, and others that are inedible Citrullus – watermelon (C. lanatus, C. colocynthis) and others Cucumis – cucumber (C. sativus), various melon Momordica – bitter melon Luffa – the common name is also luffa, sometimes spelled loofah (when fully ripened, two species of this fibrous fruit are the source of the loofah scrubbing sponge)The plants in this family are grown around the tropics and in temperate areas, where those with edible fruits were among the earliest cultivated plants in both the Old and New Worlds. The family Cucurbitaceae ranks among…