Pumpkins & Squash

Pumpkins are trailing plants of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae). Their fruit varies in shape, size and colour, from the classic orange pumpkin to colourful ornamental gourds and the familiar green courgette used for stuffing. They are mostly used in cooking – simply boiled in salads, cooked in countless ways such as stuffed, or even just for their flowers!

The main types are the common pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo), which produces the familiar small green courgettes we eat in salads or stuffed; the winter squash (Cucurbita maxima), usually orange and round, which can often reach 50 kg; the sweet pumpkin, ideal for pies; and the bottle gourd, used for decoration. Once its fruit has fully ripened, it is cut, treated so it does not rot, then painted and used as a decoration.