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Crookneck squash

Cucurbita moschata

Also called Butternut Pumpkin, Butternut Squash, Calabaza, Dickinson Pumpkin, Kentucky Field Pumpkin, Large Cheese Pumpkin, Long Island Cheese Pumpkin

Crookneck squash
Photo: George Chernilevsky, Public domain

Crookneck squash is a cultivar group of Cucurbita moschata, a tropical American annual vine grown for its edible flesh, flowers and seeds. It is more heat and humidity tolerant than most other squash, and it needs full sun, warmth and plenty of room to sprawl.

Family
Cucurbitaceae (Gourd family)
Grows as
Climber
Light
Full sun
Water
Water deeply at the base of the plant, keeping leaves dry where possible.
Soil
Rich, well-drained loam with plenty of compost.
Temperature
18–30 °C; protect below 10 °C
How easy
Easy
Safety
Not known to be toxic
Edible
Yes, some parts
Native range
as a cultigen from Mexico to Guatemala
Climate
seasonally dry tropical

About

Cucurbita moschata is a species originating in the tropical Americas which is cultivated for edible flesh, flowers, greens, and seeds. It includes cultivars known in English as squash or pumpkin. Cultivars of C. moschata are generally more tolerant of hot, humid weather than squash of other domesticated species. C. moschata also exhibit a greater resistance to certain disease and insects, notably including to the squash vine borer. Commercially-made pumpkin pie mix is most often made from varieties of C. moschata.

Other Cucurbita plants

Japanese Pie Pumpkin · Coyote Melon · Coyote Gourd · Cucurbita cylindrata · Fingerleaf gourd · Ecuadorian Squash · Figleaf gourd · Missouri gourd · Cucurbita galeottii · Bitter Pumpkin · Marten Gourd · Jarrahdale pumpkin

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cucurbita moschata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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