Cucurbita lundelliana
L. H. Bailey
Bitter pumpkin
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Janet Guardiola, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
iNaturalist· cc-by-sa
(c) Juan Cruzado Cortés, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
gbif· cc-by-nc
Rapid Reference Collection (RRC) | Field Museum of Natural History - Keller Science Action Center
Summary
Source: WikipediaCucurbita lundelliana is a mesophyte plant species of the genus Cucurbita. It is native to Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. It has not been domesticated. It is found in the Yucatán region near sea level among limestone cliffs. In Guatemala it is found in Parque Nacional Yaxha Nakum Naranjo along Rio Ixtinto and near Laguna Julequito (west of west end of Lake Yaxha). It has yellow-orange corollas and gray-green seeds. Its leaves are slightly similar to those of Cucurbita ficifolia. It is resistant to powdery mildew and crown rot. In 1962 the first successful cross of a wild Cucurbita with a domesticated Cucurbita occurred. In that study by Whitaker, C. lundelliana was mostly dominant in a cross with Cucurbita moschata. The purpose of the study was to find the ancestral plant species of the domesticated Cucurbita. C. lundelliana crosses rather well with the five cultivated species of Cucurbita. The species was formally described by Liberty Hyde Bailey in 1943, in Gentes Herbarum.
Description
A pumpkin family vine. The corolla is yellow-orange. The seeds are grey-green.
This description is brief — help expand it
Edible Uses
The fruit is eaten.
Distribution
It is a tropical plant. It grows near sea level on limestone cliffs.
Where It Grows
Belize, Central America, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, North America,
Notes
It can be crossed with pumpkin and squash.
Also Known As
Bulut, Burut, Calabacitas silvestres, Calabaza, Peten gourd, Xburut
References (3)
- FMNH Botany Collections Database - Mesoamerican Ethnobotany emuweb.field museum.org
- Nee, M., 1990, The Domestication of Cucurbita (Cucurbitaceae). Economic Botany, Vol. 44, No. 3, Supplement: New Perspectives on the Origin and Evolution of New World Domesticated Plants. pp. 56-68
- Wiersema, J. H. & Leon, B., 2013, World Economic Plants. A Standard Reference CRC Press. 2nd Ed. p 217
