Pumpkin

in New Orleans, Louisiana , all others are Cucurbita maxima A pumpkin is a cultivated winter squash in the genus Cucurbita. The term is most commonly applied to round, orange-colored squash varieties, but does not possess a scientific definition. It may be used in reference to many different squashes of varied appearance and belonging to multiple species in the Cucurbita genus. "Pumpkin" is sometimes used interchangeably with "squash" or "winter squash", and is commonly used for some cultivars of Cucurbita argyrosperma, Cucurbita ficifolia, Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita moschata, and Cucurbita pepo. C. pepo pumpkins are among the oldest known domesticated plants, with evidence of their cultivation dating to between 7000 BCE and 5500 BCE in Mesoamerica. Wild species of Cucurbita and the earliest domesticated species are native to North America (parts of present-day northeastern Mexico and the southern United States), but cultivars are now grown globally for culinary, decorative, and other culturally-specific purposes. The pumpkin's thick shell encases edible seeds and pulp. Pumpkin pie is a traditional part of Thanksgiving meals in Canada and the United States and pumpkins are frequently used as autumnal seasonal decorations and carved as jack-o'-lanterns for decoration around Halloween.…

in New Orleans, Louisiana]] , all others are Cucurbita maxima]] A pumpkin is a cultivated winter squash in the genus Cucurbita. The term is most commonly applied to round, orange-colored squash varieties, but does not possess a scientific definition. It may be used in reference to many different squashes of varied appearance and belonging to multiple species in the Cucurbita genus. "Pumpkin" is sometimes used interchangeably with "squash" or "winter squash", and is commonly used for some cultivars of Cucurbita argyrosperma, Cucurbita ficifolia, Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita moschata, and Cucurbita pepo. C. pepo pumpkins are among the oldest known domesticated plants, with evidence of their cultivation dating to between 7000 BCE and 5500 BCE in Mesoamerica. Wild species of Cucurbita and the earliest domesticated species are native to North America (parts of present-day northeastern Mexico and the southern United States), but cultivars are now grown globally for culinary, decorative, and other culturally-specific purposes. The pumpkin's thick shell encases edible seeds and pulp. Pumpkin pie is a traditional part of Thanksgiving meals in Canada and the United States and pumpkins are frequently used as autumnal seasonal decorations and carved as jack-o'-lanterns for decoration around Halloween. Commercially canned pumpkin purée and pie fillings are usually made of different pumpkin varieties from those intended for decorative use. ==Etymology and terminology== According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the English word pumpkin is a 17th-century corruption of the earlier pompion, denoting any of various kinds of edible gourd. The latter ultimately derives, via French and Latin, from Greek πέπων ( ). An alternative theory derives pumpkin from the Massachusett word , meaning "grows forth round". This term could have been used by the Wampanoag people (who speak the dialect of Massachusett) when introducing pumpkins to English Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony, located in present-day Massachusetts. (The English word squash is derived from a Massachusett word, , or, in the closely related Narragansett language, .) Researchers have noted that the term pumpkin and related terms like ayote and calabaza are applied to a range of winter squash with varying size and shape. The term tropical pumpkin is sometimes used for pumpkin cultivars of the species Cucurbita moschata. ==Cultivars== The species and varieties include many economically important cultivars with a variety of different shapes, colors, and flavors that are grown for different purposes. Variety is used here interchangeably with cultivar, but not with species or taxonomic variety.

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