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Cucurbita argyrosperma, also called the cushaw squash and silver-seed gourd, is a species of winter squash originally from the south of Mexico.[3][4] This annual herbaceous plant is cultivated in the Americas for its nutritional value: its flowers, shoots, and fruits are all harvested, but it is cultivated most of all for its seeds,[5] which are used for sauces. It was formerly known as Cucurbita mixta.[5][6]

Cucurbita argyrosperma
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Cucurbitales
Family:	Cucurbitaceae
Genus:	Cucurbita
Species:	C. argyrosperma
Binomial name
Cucurbita argyrosperma K.Koch
Synonyms[2]
Cucurbita cyanoperizona (Pangalo) Bukasov Cucurbita mixta Pangalo Cucurbita moschata var. argyrosperma (C. Huber) Naudin Cucurbita pepo var. sororia (L.H.Bailey) Filov Cucurbita stenosperma (Pangalo) Bukasov

It is a Cucurbita species, with varieties that are commonly cultivated in the United States as part of the Eastern Agricultural Complex[7] and Mexico south to Nicaragua. Of all the cultivated Cucurbita species it is the least found outside the Americas. It originated in Mesoamerica, most likely in the state of Jalisco, from its wild ancestor Cucurbita sororia.[8] It is also closely related to Cucurbita kellyana and Cucurbita palmeri.[5][9] The reference genome of this species was published in 2019.[10]

Description

The flowers are orange or yellow and bloom in July or August. The plant grows about 1 foot high and spreads 10–15 feet. It likes well drained soil and has both male and female flowers. Fruits can weigh up to 20 pounds.[4] It is often grown in close proximity to Cucurbita moschata.[11]

Uses

Food

The flowers, stems, shoots, and unripe fruits of the plant are consumed as vegetables.[12] In the south of Mexico, the wild, more bitter varieties are used in this same way, once washed and cleaned to eliminate cucurbitin. The ripe fruit is grilled to make pies or used to feed animals. The seeds yield an edible oil.[12]

It is also grown in the Sonoran Desert region of the Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico by native peoples, especially the Tohono O'odham, where it is especially prized when immature as a summer squash.

Medicinal properties

Cucurbita argyrosperma also has medicinal properties. A liquid emulsion of its seed can act as a vermifuge, and the subsequent use of a laxative can effect an expulsion of parasitic worms.[12]^{[unreliable source?]}

The Yucatán peasantry has traditionally used the flesh of Cucurbita argyrosperma to tend burns, sores, and eczema, while the seeds have been used with the aim of promoting lactation in nursing women, and provide pain relief.[9]

References

External links

• Media related to Cucurbita argyrosperma at Wikimedia Commons

На других языках

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- [en] Cucurbita argyrosperma

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[es] Cucurbita argyrosperma

Cucurbita argyrosperma (en una época conocida como Cucurbita mixta) es el nombre científico de una especie de plantas cucurbitáceas originaria de Mesoamérica en donde se conoce como pipián.[2] Al ser indistinguible de otras cucurbitáceas, en otras regiones del continente americano se le denomina con el nombre de cucurbitáceas locales, siendo zapallo (C. maxima) y auyama (C. moschata) los más comunes. En España se utiliza la palabra de origen árabe calabaza. Las variedades más conocidas de esta especie probablemente sean las llamadas «pipián», para consumir sus semillas molidas (México) o su fruto inmaduro como verdura de estación (América Central), y el estadounidense cushaw, para consumir su pulpa. Es la menos difundida fuera de América de las especies cultivadas. En su región de origen en México y América Central posee variedades y poblaciones silvestres y asilvestradas (que a veces pueden encontrarse bajo su anterior nombre de especie: Cucurbita sororia,[3] Cucurbita palmeri,[3] Cucurbita kellyana[3]) de las que incluso desde varios kilómetros puede llegar el polen a las variedades cultivadas de su propia especie haciendo que sus semillas se desarrollen como plantas de fruto amargo y no comestible. Todavía conserva una posibilidad de obtener un porcentaje muy bajo de híbridos, quizás en ambas direcciones[cita 1], con su especie hermana, Cucurbita moschata[4][5][6][cita 1]; no híbrida con las demás especies. Se cuenta con el genoma secuenciado de esta especie.[14]

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