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The Cucurbitaceae or cucurbit
family (also commonly referred to as cooler climates.
the cucumber, gourd, melon, or
pumpkin family) is a medium-sized
plant family, primarily found in the
warmer regions of the world. It is a
major family for economically
important species, particularly those
with edible fruits. Some of these
represent some of the earliest
cultivated plants in both the Old and
New Worlds. Some have medicinal
and other uses. The family is distinct
morphologically and biochemically
from other families and is therefore
considered monophyletic. General
opinion is that it is closest allied
phylogenetically with the
Begoniaceae in the order Violales. A
number of genera are not clearly
defined and are in need of modern
monographic treatments.
More on family »
Genera/species: 119/ around 825.
Distribution: Pantropical and subtropical;
a few representatives in temperate to
Major genera: Trichosanthes (100
species), Cayaponia (60
species),Momordica (47
species), Gurania (40
species), Sicyos (40
species),Cucumis (34 species).
Minor genera: 36 genera are monotypic.
Major domesticated species (food
plants): Citrullus
lanatus(watermelon), Cucumis
sativus (cucumber), Cucumis
melo (melon),Cucumis anguria (bur
gherkin), Cucurbita (five species of
squash & pumpkin), Momordica
charantia (bitter melon), Sechium
edule(chayote), Luffa (two species of
loofah), Lagenaria siceraria (bottle
gourd), Benincasa hispida (wax
gourd), Trichosanthes (two species of
snake gourd), Telfairia (two species of
oyster nut), Sicana
odorifera(casabanana), Coccinia
grandis (ivy gourd), Praecitrullus
fistulosus(tinda), Cyclanthera
pedata (slipper gourd),
and Cucumeropsis mannii(white-seeded
melon).
Succulents: species of Coccinia,
Corallocarpus, Cyclantheropsis,
Gerrardanthus, Ibervillea, Kedrostis,
Melothria, Momordica, Odosicyos,
Seyrigia, Xerosicyos, and Zehneria. Many
of these are endangered in the wild.
Other ornamentals: Cucurbita
pepo (ornamental gourds), Lagenaria
siceraria (bottle gourd), Cucumis
 dipsaceus (teasel gourd), Cucumis
metuliferus (African horned
cucumber), Echinocystis lobata (balsam-
apple).

Medicinals: Bryonia (two species of
bryony), Citrullus
colocynthis(colocynth), Coccinia
grandis (ivy gourd), Cucurbira
foetidissima (buffalo gourd), Ecballium
elaterium (squirting cucumber), Fevillea
cordifolia(antidote vine), Gynostemma
pentaphyllum (jiaogulan), Hemsleya
amabilis (luo guo di), Momordica (a
number of species including bitter
melon), Sechium (two species including
chayote), Sicana
odorifera(casabanana), Siraitia
grosvenorii (luo han guo), Trichosanthes
kirilowii(Chinese snake gourd).

Other uses: Lagenaria siceraria (bottle

gourd—used as containers, floats, and
resonator for musical instruments), Luffa
cylindrica (loofah—used as a sponge and
filter), Sicana odorifera (casabanana—
used as an air freshener), Siraitia
grosvenorii (luo han guo—used as a
sweetener).

Invasive weeds: Citrullus lanatus (citron

melon), Coccinia grandis (ivy
gourd), Cucumis melo (Dudaim
melon), Cucurbita pepo (Texas
gourd),Momordica charantia (bitter
melon), Sicyos angulata (burr cucumber).

Family cucurbitaceae is commonly called as gourd family. It includes 100 genera and 850
species. It is distributed in tropical and sub-tropical areas of would. Few species are found in
temperate region (Trichosathes, Sechium etc).

Vegetative Characters

Habit:
Mostly annual weak stemed trailing or decumbent vines climbing by means of tendrils,
herbaceous in nature some are perrenial.

Acanthosicyos is a thorny leafless shrub of South Africa, while debdrosicyos is a soft wooded
tree of Arabian cast. In India most of the climbers are cultivated for vegetable.

Root:

Tap root, branched sometimes modified into monoliform root (as in momordica). In
acanthosiryos root may attain 15 meters length and thickened to store food. Adventious roots
may arise from axil of leaf in trailing forms.

Stem:

Herbaceous, climbing by tendril, angular with ridges and furrows, fine angled in outline
branched, pubescent (hairy) may contain juicy sap. Mostly hollow.

Leaf:

Alternate, broad, usually simple, petiolate. Lamina deeply lobed or incises appearing
palmate, venation palmate reticulate. Often modified into tendrils. Hairs may present on
petiole, petiole may solid or hollow.

Floral characters:
Inflorescence:

Solitary, large showy or sometimes flowers in racemes o r cymes or in panicles. Usually

solitary axillary. Male or female flowers may borne on same plant or on different plant.

Flower:

Regular, actinomorphic, unisexual, often bisexual, showy, large, bracteolate, pdeicellate,

epigynous. White or yellow in color.

Male Flower:

Usually produced in large numbers in compared to female flowers, companulate.

i) Calyx: Sepals five, gamosepalous pointed often petaloid, imbricate or quincancial.

ii) Corolla: Petals 5, gamopetalous, in momordiea polypetalous but connate at base.
Colored showy, often deeply lobed. Valvet or imbricate aestivation. Sometimes inserted in
calyx tube when free.
iii) Androecium: Usually stamens five in number, free or combined to form central
column syngenesious, anthers bilobed. But variation found in the stamen of different genera.
In cucurbita authors much curved and united in central column called synandrium.
Filamenit free and short anthers basifixed dehiscence by logitydinal splitting. Anther lobes
twisted lile transverse or longitudinal ‘S’.
iv) Gynoecium: Absent in male flowers.
v) Fruit: Absent.
Female flower:

Female flowers are fewer than the male flowers and comparatively larger in size.

Calyx: Sepals 5, united calyx tube adnate to ovary or often produced beyond it.
Corolla: Petals five free or connate at base or gamopetalous, imbricate or valvet.
Androecium: Absent or reduced to rudiments of staminodes.
Gynoecium: Tricarpellary, syncarpous, interior ovary, unilocular, but often the placenta
intrude far into the chamber of the ovary making falsely trilocular. Style short, stigm trifid.
Fruit: A soft fleshy berry typically called as pepo.
Seeds: Exalbminous, nonedospermic, many.
Economic Importance of the Family:

Family cucurbitaceae has long played important role in economic affairs of man. The genera
included in the family are of food, medicinal as well as useful for other purposes. Economic
value of the family is out lined below.

i) The hard dried shell or woody pericarp of species lagenaria ualgaris in different shape and
form make excellent flasks primitive vessels and utensils. It also used as blow pipe of snake
charmer, drum for tambura, soraja etc in making musical instrument.

ii) Dried fibrous network of vascular tissue in fruit of luffa when set free by retting away after
tissues affords the well known fibrous luffa sponge as bath sponge or disch cloth. These are
two species in this concern i.e. Luffa cylindrica and luffa aegyptiaca.

iii) Vegetable : Majority of species used as vegetables for common use in kitchen viz legenaria
uulgaris(law), cucurbita pepo, cucuribita maxima(pumpkin), C. moschata, luffa aegyptiaca,
momordica charantia(kalara).

iv) Fruits : Raw fruits directly eaten as fruit in riped or unriped condition. These includes –
cucumis melo(kharbooza), C sativus(kakudi), citrulus vulgaris (tarbhuja) etc.

v) Ornamental : Certain vines of the family grown in gardens and walls for ornamental
purpose.

vi) Medicinal : Some species of family possess high medicinal value. Majority of them are
laxatives, some are poisonous and some produce useful drugs.

Citrullus colocynthesis – pulp of which is purgative and official drug used in dropsy intestinal
disorders etc.
Trichosanthers, dioica – Pulp of fruit mixed with coconut oil used to cure ear itch root is used
in inflammation of lungs in cattles.

Ecballium elaterium yields elaterium

Bryonia dioica yields medicine used for piles asthma and rhematism and powerful remedy
for snake bite.

Botanical names of five useful plants:

1. Luffa aegyptiaca – (Ghia tori) – Bath sponge

2. Cucurbita maxima – Vegetable

3. Cucumis sativus – Fruit and vegetable

4. Citrullus vulgaris – Watermelon used as fruit in summer.

5. Bryonia indica (Bryony) – Medicinal.

NEW OPPORTUNITIES WITH COMMONLY GROWN CUCURBITS

Cucurbit crops commonly grown in the United States include cucumber
(Cucumis sativus), melon (Cucumis melo), watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), and
squash and pumpkin (Cucurbita spp.). Due to intensive breeding efforts,
particularly with cucumber and melon, numerous new cultivars have been
developed, some of them quite different from the traditional forms for these
crops.

Cucumbers have been traditionally grown for either pickling or slicing

purposes. Newer forms which are increasing in importance include hothouse
cucumbers, which are elongated, seedless, and "burpless" (putatively reducing
eructation). Nerson et al. (1990) reported on the development of melofon, a
genotype of Cucumis melowhich is suitable for pickle production.

Until recently, melon production has been limited in most parts of the United
States to the reticulated (netted), orange-fleshed muskmelon. However, the
smooth-skinned, green-fleshed honeydews have increased in popularity over
the past decade, and varied displays of casaba and canary (smooth-skinned with
yellow or mottled rinds, white-fleshed), Persian (lightly-netted, pink-fleshed),
and crenshaw (smooth-skinned, pale orange-fleshed) melons are becoming an
increasingly common sight in major markets. The genetic diversity within the
species for fruit characteristics has resulted in recent cultivar developments
such as orange-fleshed honeydews and green-fleshed netted melons.
Additionally, producers are showing interest in forms cultivated in other
countries, including the smooth-skinned, delicately-fleshed "Charentais" types
in Europe and the dark green smooth-skinned "hami gua" melons of Asia.

Watermelon types have traditionally been red-fleshed and seeded. There is

genetic variation for flesh color in the species, however, and colors can range
from white or yellow to orange, depending upon the genetic constitution.
Yellow-fleshed cultivars are now available, and there may be a market for
white-fleshed cultivars if quality could be assured, since consumers tend to
associate white flesh with immaturity. A relatively recent development in
watermelon breeding has been the use of ploidy manipulations to produce
seedless triploid genotypes (Kihara 1951). A number of seedless cultivars have
been developed, but they tend to be more susceptible to physiological problems
such as poor seed germination and hollow heart. In northwest China, edible
seed watermelons are an important crop (Zhang and Jiang 1990); these melons
are small in size (2.5 to 3.5 kg) with low soluble solids content, but have a high
ratio of seed to flesh in the fruits. The seeds are roasted before eating.

Squash, derived from Algonquin Indian "askoot asquash" which means "eaten
green," is a generic term to describe cultivars of four Cucurbita species: C.
argyrosperma (= C. mixta), C. maxima, C. moschata, and C. pepo. These
species are New World in origin, with all but C. maxima originating in central
to southern Mexico (C. maxima originated in South America and was the only
species not cultivated in the United States until post-Columbian times).
Traditional forms of the Cucurbita spp. include summer squash, winter squash,
pumpkins, and gourds. Production has recently increased with specialty forms
such as spaghetti squash (C. pepo), whose internal flesh texture resembles
strands of spaghetti following cooking. Another specialty crop is calabaza (C.
moschata), a hard-shelled squash with bright orange, fine-grained flesh and
excellent nutritive properties (Wessel-Beaver and Varela 1991). There has also
been recent interest in edible pumpkin seed, particularly in genotypes with the
hull-less trait (Loy 1990).

Although the new forms of these commonly grown cucurbits represent an

increase of diversity within each commodity, they will probably not expand the
market substantially (with the exception of niche markets) since consumers will
probably elect to purchase them in place of the more traditional forms. Where
the true opportunity for increased diversity and market growth exists is with
cucurbit crops which are grown on an international scale, but are cultivated to
only a limited extent in the United States.
CUCURBITS OF POTENTIAL ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE
Although by no means exhaustive, Table 1 lists cucurbit species which are
cultivated to a significant extent in other parts of the world. Loosely grouped
according to Old World and New World origins, Table 1 also lists the more
frequently used common names for each of these species, along with growth
habit and the parts of the plant which are used on an economic basis. Many of
these species are described in detail by Chakravarty (1990), Herklots (1972),
Tindall (1983), Whitaker (1990), Whitaker and Davis (1962), and Yamaguchi
(1983).

Old World Cucurbits

Benincasa hispida. The winter melon has been reported to have been grown as
a vegetable in China since 500 AD; even today, however, it is cultivated little
outside of Asia. It was one of two cucurbit species identified by the National
Academy of Sciences (1975) as being an underexploited tropical crop.
Exhibiting relatively rapid growth, B. hispida grows best in temperate climates
with adequate but not excessive rainfall. In Sri Lanka, the plant produces fruit
from seed in two months during the rainy season. The distribution of staminate
and pistillate flowers is influenced by temperature and daylength. Plants may
be grown recumbent or trellised.

The mature fruit is the primary harvested plant part, although seeds are
sometimes extracted, fried and eaten like pumpkin seeds. The fruit is covered
by a white, chalky wax which deters microorganisms and helps impart an
extraordinary longevity to the melon. Winter melon fruits can be stored for as
long as a year without refrigeration. Fruits may weight up to 35 kg and consist
of more than 96% water. They are usually sold whole in domestic markets, but
are commonly displayed and sold by the slice in Asian markets. Somewhat
bland in flavor when eaten fresh, the flesh is often used to make soup stock.
Canned winter melon soup and dehydrated winter melon slices represent two of
the processed products made from this species.

Citrullus colocynthis. A relative of watermelon, egusi is native to tropical

Africa and highly drought tolerant. Productivity is enhanced during dry, sunny
periods and reduced during periods of excessive rainfall and high humidity. It
is suitable for production in "marginal growing areas." The fruits are extremely
bitter, but the seeds are can be removed and roasted as an edible commodity
(Soliman et al. 1985). The seeds are rich in oils, which can be extracted for
cooking purposes, and the seeds can also be ground into a powder and used as a
soup thickener or flavoring agent (Badifu and Ogunsua 1991).
Coccinia cordifolia. Ivy gourd is a semi-perennial which grows best under
conditions of adequate rainfall and high humidity. One of the few dioecious
cucurbits, with a hetermorphic (XY) chromosome pair determining sex, it
produces best when a 1:10 ratio of male to females is used. Plants are
commonly trellised. The leaves, shoots, and immature fruits are cooked and
eaten; mature fruits are sometimes preserved.

Cucumis anguria. The West Indian gherkin grows and is used in a similar
fashion as the cucumber. It was introduced into the United States in the early
1800s, but remains cultivated to only a limited extent. Oval in shape with a
round cross-section, it has a highly warted skin, long spines and a large cavity
with many seeds.

Lagenaria siceraria. The origin of the bottle gourd is acknowledged to be

Africa, although archaeological evidence has placed it in Peru around
12000 BC, in Thailand about 8000 BC, and in Zambia around
2000 BC (Esquinas-Alcazar and Gulick 1983). It has traveled widely, perhaps
because the hard, dry skin of the mature fruits is impervious to water; they are
capable of floating on salt water for the better part of a year without any loss in
seed viability (Herklots 1972; Tindall 1983). Tolerant to a wide range of
rainfall, it may be grown either on the ground or trellised.

Young fruits are used as a cooked vegetable similar to zucchini. The flesh is
white, firm, and has an excellent texture and a mild taste. Young shoots and
leaves can be cooked, and seeds can be used in soups. Flesh of immature fruits
can also be used in making icing for cakes, and the hard skin is sometimes
sliced into thin, dry strips for cooking.

Some forms of L. siceraria are grown for non-food uses. Mature fruits, whose
inside may be poisonous, contain an extremely hard and waterproof rind when
dried. They can be used as multi-purpose containers (bowls, boxes, water jugs,
cups, planters), utensils (ladles, pipes), musical instruments (e.g., sitars), floats
for fishnets and rafts, or for ornamental purposes such as masks or native
artifacts. Designs lightly scratched into the skin of developing fruit will develop
into scars that remain intact in the mature fruits.

Luffa acutangula. The angled loofah is commonly grown in hot, humid tropical
areas in Asia. Plants are generally grown on a trellis. Immature fruits, which are
dark green with tender ridges, are used in soups and curries or as a cooked
vegetable. They generally grow up to 0.6 m in length, and the flesh is spongy
although the skin is coarse. The mature fruits are bitter and inedible, but the
fibrous skeleton can be used as a sponge. However, the reticulated inner tissue
is not as easily separated from the outer skin and inner flesh as L.
aegyptiaca (= L. cylindrica).

Luffa aegyptiaca. Along with Lagenaria siceraria, L. aegyptiaca probably has

the most diverse uses of any of the cultivated cucurbits. Immature fruits of the
non-bitter genotypes are eaten fresh, cooked, or in soups, although they are
inferior to immature L. acutangula fruits. The mature fruits are the source of
the spongy reticulated material known as the domestic loofah. These loofahs
are used for sponges and filters, and for stuffing pillows, saddles, and slippers.
They can also be used for insulation and are attractive sources for packing
materials because of their biodegradability. There is an increasing interest in
domestic production (Davis 1991) since the United States is the major market
and imports millions of loofahs from Asia each year.

Normally, mature fruits are left on vine to dry and the dry, thin outer skin is
removed. The fruit is then soaked in running water for several days, after which
the softer tissue is removed. After further soaking, then drying, the seeds are
shaken out and the loofah is bleached either chemically or by the sun prior to
marketing.

Momordica charantia. The bitter melon is adapted to a wide variation of

climates, although production is best in hot, humid areas such as tropical Asia.
The bitter immature fruits are usually soaked to remove some of the bitterness,
then boiled or fried. Volatile components released during cooking enhance the
flavor (Binder et al. 1989). Bitter melons can also be pickled or used in curries.
Relative to other cucurbits, the fruit is highly nutritious due to the iron and
ascorbic acid content. Plants are usually trellised, and fruits are protected from
flies by tying a paper cylinder around the stalk. Some forms have bright red
seeds due to a high lycopene content; Yen and Hwang (1985) have proposed
using this pigment as an artificial food colorant.

Praecitrullus fistulosus. Primarily grown in India, the round melon was long
considered to be Citrullus lanatus but was recently given its own taxonomic
category due in part to its difference in monoploid chromosome number
(Sujatha and Seshadri 1989). Growth conditions and requirements are similar to
those of watermelon, but the entire immature fruit is used as a cooked
vegetable. The seeds can also be removed and eaten.

Telfairia occidentalis. A dioecious perennial grown at elevations up to 2,000 m

in West Africa, the fluted gourd is drought tolerant and is usually trellised.
Shoots from the female plants can be cooked and eaten (Lucas 1988). The fruits
are large (up to 13 kg) and inedible, but the seeds contain up to 30% protein
and can be boiled and eaten, or ground into powder for soup. Seeds can also be
fermented for several days and eaten as a slurry (Badifu and Ogunsua 1991).

Telfairia pedata. The oyster nut is a perennial grown in Central and East
Africa. It is drought tolerant, can grow at elevations up to 2,000 m, requires 18
months to flowering, and is usually trellised. It produces very large, long, flat
seeds which taste similar to almonds when roasted.

Trichosanthes cucumerina. The snake melon is an annual which requires high

levels of soil moisture and trellising. A long growing season is necessary, and
the flowers open late in the afternoon. Immature fruits are usually harvested
when they are 0.3 to 0.4 m long; mature fruits can grow up to 1.5 m in length.
Some of the fruits remain straight, while others may curl to resemble a snake.
Immature fruits are boiled and eaten, while mature fruits are used in soups.

New World Cucurbits

Cucurbita ficifolia. The fig-leaved gourd grows in temperate highlands at

elevations up to 2,000 m. One of the earliest cultivated plants in America,
archaeological evidence indicates it was cultivated in Peru around
3000 BC (Herklots 1972). The immature fruits can be prepared and eaten
similar to summer squash. Mature fruits can be preserved, and the black seeds
are edible. In Latin America, the flesh is impregnated with sugar to make a
candy or it can be fermented to make beer (Whitaker 1990).

Cucurbita foetidissima. Identified as an underexploited tropical crop by the

National Academy of Sciences (1975), the buffalo gourd has multiple food and
non-food uses (Bemis et al. 1975; Gathman and Bemis 1990). It is a perennial
and is found growing wild in marginal lands in the southwestern United States.
Some plants have been reported to be over 40 years old. It has a very large,
fleshy storage root which can grow to depths up to 5 m and weigh as much as
30 kg after two growing seasons. Roots of older plants can weigh over 100 kg.
Buffalo gourd primarily reproduces by asexual reproduction, but also produces
small yellow, hard shelled fruits which are considered inedible.

American Indians have used the ripe fruit as a soap substitute and as
ceremonial rattles. The seeds, which contain an abundant quantity of
polyunsaturated fats and protein, are edible. The large storage roots contain
large amounts of starch (up to 56% of the dry weight), and can also be used as
fuel. Air-dried roots burn with the heat equivalent of wood and are being tested
in Afghanistan as an alternative fuel to decrease deforestation (Winrock
International 1991).
Cyclanthera pedata. Korila is relatively cold tolerant and adapted to elevations
up to 2,000 m, but is also easy to cultivate in the tropics and subtropics. It is
currently cultivated in the Carribean and in Central and South America. The
foliage is glabrous and odoriferous. Fruits are pale green, flattened, and mostly
hollow. The seed cavity is spongy, and the seeds are attached to a single
placenta. Seeds are usually removed and the fruits are eaten raw or cooked.
They are often used stuffed with meat, fish or cheese, then baked and eaten
similar to stuffed peppers. The shoots are also edible.

Sechium edule. Chayote was a common vegetable among the Aztecs prior to
Spanish conquest of Mexico. It is still one of the most widely cultivated of the
cucurbits in Costa Rica. It requires high levels of soil moisture and can grow at
elevations up to 1,500 m. Unlike most cucurbits, it has a daylength requirement
of 12 to 12.5 h for flowering. The plants grow best on hillsides and are usually
trellised. Parthenocarpic fruit set can be induced by gibberellin.

Unlike other cucurbits, the fruit contain only a single, large seed. The immature
fruits can be eaten raw in salads and provide a good source of vitamin C
(Herklots 1972). They can also be boiled, fried, steamed, or stuffed and baked.
Young leaves and tendrils are also eaten, and seeds can be sauteed in butter as a
delicacy. The large storage roots represent a rich source of starch (Chakravarty
1990).

POTENTIAL BIOCHEMICAL AND MEDICINAL USES

Cucurbits are a well-recognized source of secondary metabolites. The
cucurbitacins, tetracyclic triterpenoids which impart a bitter flavor to many
cucurbits, have been well-studied as attractants of beetles such
as Diabrotica (Whitaker and Davis 1962). Alkaloids have been reported
in Momordica, and saponins have been found in Cucurbita, Citrullus,
Lagenaria, and Momordica (Schultes 1990).

As biochemical isolation techniques become more sophisticated and refined,

new compounds of interest are being isolated. For instance, Mukherjee et al.
(1986) isolated amarinin from Luffa amara; amarinin inhibits plant cell growth
in culture, and its action cannot be overcome with gibberellin.

Perhaps of greatest current interest are the compounds of potential medicinal

interest present within cucurbits. Table 2 lists reported pharmacological
properties of many cultivated cucurbits; similar properties have been ascribed
to other cucurbit species not currently under cultivation (Schultes 1990).
Putative properties include purgative actions and treatment for physical
ailments, diseases, and infectious organisms. "Infusions" (minced tissue
suitable for steeping) of selected cucurbits are sold in some markets and
reported to be able to alleviate or cure certain human ailments.

Recently, abortifacient proteins with ribosome-inhibiting properties have been

isolated from several cucurbit species (Ng et al. 1991). Some of these species
have been used to induce second trimester abortions in China since the 1920s.
The abortifacient proteins include momorcharin (from Momordica charantia),
luffaculin (from Luffa operculata), trichosanthin (from Trichosanthes
kirilowii), and beta-trichosanthin (from Trichosanthes cucumeroides).
Trichosanthin is of particular interest because its ribosome-inhibiting properties
have been shown to be effective in inhibiting the replication of human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in infected lymphocyte and phagocyte cells,
indicating potential as a therapeutic agent for AIDS (McGrath et al. 1989).
These proteins vary in their level of action and effectiveness, and further
germplasm evaluation of cultivated and wild species may identify related
compounds with greater efficacy for ribosome inactivation.

GERMPLASM RESOURCES
Few of these Old World and New World species have been subjected to major,
intensive breeding efforts. However, extensive germplasm collections are
maintained by the USDA Plant Germplasm System at the Plant Introduction
Station in Iowa (Clark et al. 1991) and by the Vavilov Institute in Leningrad,
USSR (Robinson 1989). Another major germplasm repository is maintained by
the Peoples' Republic of China (Robinson 1989), and smaller gene banks are
located in Mexico, India, Spain, Nigeria, Costa Rica, and the Philippines
(Esquinas-Alcazar and Gulick 1983). These germplasm collections represent a
valuable resource for breeding adapted cultivars of these exotic cucurbits for
domestic production.