bio.wikisort.org - Plant

Cucurbita ecuadorensis is a species of squash, discovered in 1965 growing wild in Ecuador.[3] Like most wild gourds and squashes, it is creeping vine and is often found climbing over other vegetation.[1] It has been found only in the western provinces of Guayas and Manabí.[4] There is evidence that it was domesticated in Ecuador around 10,000 years ago, likely for its seeds, but no direct records exist and it is no longer cultivated.[5] It is resistant to many diseases of cultivated Cucurbita species,[6] and has been used to breed resistance to several diseases into common squashes.[7] For example, researchers at Cornell University used Cucurbita ecuadorensis to breed resistance to papaya ringspot virus, watermelon mosaic virus, and powdery mildew, into common Cucurbita maxima cultivars.[7] Cucurbita ecuadorensis is listed on the IUCN Red List as vulnerable,[1] and is found protected in the Machalilla National Park.[1]

Cucurbita ecuadorensis
Mature fruit and cut showing pulp and seeds.
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Cucurbitales
Family:	Cucurbitaceae
Genus:	Cucurbita
Species:	C. ecuadorensis
Binomial name
Cucurbita ecuadorensis H.C.Cutler & Whitaker[1][2]

References

External links

• "Cucurbita ecuadorensis" at the Encyclopedia of Life
• Preserved specimen at the Field Museum of Natural History

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