Species of cucurbitaceae contained within the plant list belong to 126 plant genera. Anatomy of flowering plants meristimatic tissues duration. The following is a list of some important members of family cucurbitaceae, arranged alphabetically. They produce compounds known as cucurbitacins that have antitumor properties but are also very toxic. The cucurbitaceae or vine crop family is a distinct family without any close relatives and includes many important vegetables such as cucumber, melon, watermelon, squash, pumpkin and gourds. Citrullus watermelon citrullus lanatuscitrullus colocynthis an ithers. Ancient and recent medicinal uses of cucurbitaceae family shweta s. The wild ancestor for one domesticated squash was identified in the 1930s, ancestors for two others were determined in the 1980s, but the wild ancestors of the other two domesticates remain unknown. It is a distinct family without any close relatives. Cucurbitaceae article about cucurbitaceae by the free. The plants in this family are grown around the tropics and in temperate areas, where those with edible fruits were among the earliest cultivated plants both in the old and new world.
Cucurbitaceae a family of herbaceous vines family cucurbitaceae, gourd family dicot family, magnoliopsid family family of flowering plants. The representation of taxa from this broad sample gives the work particular value in considering the range of variation in pollen grains in the family, serving as a basis for defining types of pollen grains, and giving insights into. American seed in tours, france were adopted from the azores, and spread into europe. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Members of the family are annual or perennial herbs native to temperate and tropical areas and include cucumbers, gourds, melons. Cucurbitaceae kingdomis the major family name encompassing about 125 genera and 825 species. There are no page or colour charges and a pdf version will be provided for each. Cucurbitaceae cucurbitaceae is a plant family, sometimes called the gourd family, consisting of over a 100 genera.
This page was last edited on 29 december 2019, at 18. It is a family of economically important species, of which the fruits are used for nutritional and medicinal purposes jeffrey, 1990. The website also provides access to a database and images of herbarium specimens found at the university of south florida and other herbaria. Avoid adding too much n, use small amounts of well rotted compost. The cucurbitaceae are a plant faimily, sometimes cried the gourd faimily, consistin o aroond a hunder genera, the maist important o which are. If you know the family, you know characters of hundreds and thousand of genera and species, you may even predict. Diagnostic characteristics vine, fruit a pepo, leaves coarse, flowers unisexual and actinomorphic.
Different authors have given different systematic position to this family. The flowers vary from barely noticeable to large and conspicuous. The cucurbitaceae consists of many important food plants such as melon, pumpkin, squash, cucumber. A family of about 120 genera and 825 species, mostly distributed in tropical countries, poorly represented in temperate regions. Cucurbitaceae synonyms, cucurbitaceae pronunciation, cucurbitaceae translation, english dictionary definition of cucurbitaceae. It is a family of about genera and about 800 species. In this chapter, characteristics of the pollen grains of the cucurbitaceae occurring in india are summarized.
They are native in most countries of the world, especially in the tropics, where they are cultivated in every country, state, and province. The cucurbitaceae, also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family consisting of about 965 species in around 95 genera, the most important of which. Cucurbitaceae definition of cucurbitaceae by merriamwebster. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. The cucurbitaceae family is well defined but taxonomically isolated from other plant families. Diagnostic significance of leaf epidermal features in the. Taxa marked with an asterisk are known from cultivation only.
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. Stomatal frequency varies from one leaf to the other and these were observed among the species in the family studied. The plants of the family are collectively known as cucurbits. Members of the family are annual or perennial herbaceous plants. Two subfamilies, zanonioideae and cucurbitoideae, are well characterized. Herbs, annual or perennial, or weak, woody shrubs with watery sap, scandent or prostrate. Biology and utilization of the cucurbitaceae on jstor. Squashes have been domesticated independently from five of these thirteen taxa. Herbaceous or soft woody vines with scabrous stems and. The pistil developes into a gourdlike fruit with a few large seeds. The plant list includes 3,801 scientific plant names of species rank for the family cucurbitaceae. Cucurbitaceae is a plant family commonly known as gourds or cucurbits and includes crops like cucumbers, squashes including pumpkins, luffas, melons and watermelons. The cucurbitaceae family commonly known as the gourd family is an excellent example of a plant family with many economically useful species.
Cucurbitaceae a family of dicotyledonous plants including climbing and trailing herbs and, less commonly, subshrubs. Species in the cucurbitaceae are annual or perennial vines that either trail along the ground or climb upwards using tendrils. The domestication of cucurbita cucurbitaceae springerlink. Plants of this family have many medicinal and nutritional benefits. Medicinal uses members of the cucurbitaceae have been used for a variety of ailments. The cucurbits, as they are called, number 750 species worldwide. The genus dendrosicyos, which is found on the island of socotra, consists of treelike forms. The family cucurbitaceae consists of about 120 genera and more than 800 species. Itis taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. Cucurbitaceae definition of cucurbitaceae by the free. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. Pdf systematic investigation on the family cucurbitaceae growing throughout the.
Renner and hanno schaefer abstract the cucurbitaceae family contains about species in 96 genera. A list of all accepted names in cucurbitaceae is available in csv format. The genuscucurbita consists of about thirteen species or species groups. Morphology of flowering plants cucurbitaceae family. It includes crops such as cucumbers, squashes including pumpkins, luffas, melons and watermelons. The family cucurbitaceae ranks among the highest of plant families for number and percentage of species used as human food. The atlas of florida plants provides a source of information for the distribution of plants within the state and taxonomic information. Seeds or fruit parts of some cucurbits are reported to possess purgatives, emetics and antihelmintics properties due to the secondary metabolite cucurbitacin content. The sub family cucurbitoideae contains the food producing plants, and will be the subject of our study.
Gourd family cucumbers, melons, watermelon, winter squash, zucchini, gourds, luffa. Cucurbits are poorly represented in australasia and all temperate. Well represented in both the moist and moderately dry tropics in the old and new worlds, particularly in rain forest areas of south america and woodland, grassland, and bushland areas of africa. The fruits and seeds of majority of them are lasatives. Cucurbitaceae is a plant family commonly known as melons, gourds or cucurbits. Many members of this family produce vegetables and fruits. The family cucurbitaceae includes a large group of crops like cucumbers, and melon which are medicinally essential.
Cucurbitaceae the gourd or pumpkin family 120 genera 900 species distribution. Represented in pakistan by 17 genera and 32 specific and infraspecific taxa. The cucurbitaceae family is a mediumsized plant family, primarily found in the warmer regions of the world. General characters, distribution, important plants. Their global spread, diverse genera and phytochemical profile further confirm them as an attraction for the growth and survival of humanity. Join our friendly community that shares tips and ideas for gardens, along with seeds and plants. About the classification report about the classification download. Many cucurbitaceae seeds are rich in oil and protein, and although none of these oils have been utilized on an industrial scale, many are used as cooking oil in some countries in africa and the middle east alkhalifa, 1996. Anatomic study in certain genera of family cucurbitaceae. Most important plant families alexey shipunov minot state university july 16, 20. Cucurbitaceae, the gourd family of flowering plants, belonging to the order cucurbitales and containing 98 genera and about 975 species of food and ornamental plants. Cucurbitaceae definition is a family of chiefly herbaceous tendrilbearing vines order campanulales that are characterized by an inferior ovary and anthers usually united and that include food plants as the cucumber, melon, squash, and pumpkin, drug plants as the. Origin and domestication of cucurbitaceae crops new phytologist.
While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and uptodate information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in. This is much more easily achieved using the delta data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, distributions of. The main morphological characteristics that represents most of the cucurbits are. The family is predominantly distributed around the tropics, where those with edible fruits were amongst the earliest cultivated plants in both the old and new worlds. As a family, cucurbits are herbaceous annuals or perennials with a storage root and mostly moist vines. Cucurbitaceae gourd family native members of cucurbitaceae are of the marah manroot genus, which have singular female pistillate flowers and clustered male staminate flowers. The leaves are arranged alternately and are either undivided and lobed, or divided into 3 or more leaflets. Classification for kingdom plantae down to family cucurbitaceae. Members of this family have been widely cultivated, resulting in the cucumbers, watermeloms, cantaloupes, squashes and pumpkins grown on. Phylogeny and evolution of the cucurbitaceae request pdf.
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