Melons-Squash-art - 3/6/17

"Melons and Squashes" by Mistress Agnes deLanvallei.

NOTE: See also the files: Cucumbers-Hst-art, gourds-msg, cucumbers-msg, P-Cowcumbers-art, veg-stuffed-msg, Watermelons-art, watermelons-msg.

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Mark S. Harris...AKA:..Stefan li Rous
stefan at florilegium.org
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Melons and Squashes
by Agnes deLanvallei

Melons and squashes are plants in the cucumber family, Cucurbitaceae.  This group is both Old and New World and the names have become quite confused.
 
Table 1. Cultivated species of Cucurbitaceae
COMMON NAME
Scientific Name
Origin
Comments/sources
balsam apple
Momordica dioica
India and Asia
Mostly wild [1] Pictured in [6] Italy 1517
balsam pear
Momordica charantia,  see melon, bitter


calabash (gourd)
see gourd, bottle


cantaloupe
Cucumis melo
Africa [2]

[2], [4], [5]
chayote or christophine
Sechium edule
Mexico [4]    Central America [5]
1, 4, 5   Cultivated by Aztecs [1], [4]
citron or preserving melon
Citrullus lanatus var. citroides
Africa [2], [4]
small fruits, white flesh [2], [4]
cococynth
Citrullus cococynthus
Africa [2]
Watermelon relative:  seeds in Egyptian archaeological sites from 3800 BC; bitter, not cultivated. Also called bitter gourd [2]
cucumber
Cucumis sativus
South-central Asia [2], [5]
Written records of cucumbers from western Asia 1000 BC; grown in classical Greece & Rome; not to China until 2nd Century AD [2], [4], [5]
cushow, green striped
Cucurbita
argyrospermaa
S. Mexico [4]
[3], [4], [5]
gherkin
Cucumis anguria
Africa [2], [5]
2,5  The name "West Indian gherkin" is misleading: came from Africa with the slave trade [2]
gourd, bitter
Momordica charantia See bitter melon


gourd, bottle
Lagenaria sicerariac
Tropical Africa, Madagascar [1]
cultivated throughout world: "gourds" [1]
Earliest cultivated records: central and South America 7000 BC; Africa 2000 BC; China 1000 BC [1]
gourd, figleaf;
Cucurbita ficifolia
Peru [5]
Known from Peru 3000-4000 BC;long cultivated Mexico to S America [5] also called Malabar gourd
gourd, Malabar
Cucurbita ficifolia
See figleaf gourd


gourd, wax
Benincasa hispida
Southern China [4]
Alternate names, winter melon, white gourd, white pumpkin, hairy melon, fuzzy melon;  SE Asia before 600 AD1, [4]  A tropical plant grown mainly in Asia; however, it travels well.
luffa
Luffa acutangula, L. cylindricad
Asia [4]
young fruit edible [1], [4], [5] Probably domesticated in India but records lacking:  not reported in China until AD 618-9001; Europe??
marrow, winter
Cucurbita maxima
S. America [4]
3,4,5
melon
Cucumis melo
Africa [2], [4], [5]
Earliest cultivated reference: India 2000 BC; [2] China 1000 BC2  Apparently not know in Egypt or Greece, came to Europe at end of Roman Empire [5]
deCandolle in 1886 --a classic work on cultivated plants --suggested 'sikua' of Theophrastus and 'pepon' of Dioscorides were melons, but modern writers are doubtful [2] Very varied by 1517: see pictures in  [6]
melon, bitter
Momordica charantia
Asia [1], [4], [5]
[1],[4]  Minor melon, not much known of origins.  Picture in 7 (Italy 1517)  Also called balsam pear5, bitter gourd
melon, egusi
Cucumeropsis edulis, Cucumeropsis manii
West Africa [5]
Cultivated in West Africa for oily seeds, which are cooked [1] [5]
melon, honeydew
Cucumis melo

[2], [4], [5]
melon, pickling
Cucmis melo

described in China 1000-500 BC [2]
melon, winter
See gourd, wax


muskmelon
Cucumis melo

2,4,5 described in China 1000-500 BC [2]





pumpkin
Cucurbita
argyrospermaa,
Cucurbita ficifolia,
Cucurbita
maxima,
Cucurbita moschata, Cucurbita  pepo
Central and South America [3], [4], [5]
[3], [4], [5]
snake-gourd
Trichosanthes cucumerina
Asia, Australia5
Cultivated in India, Far East5
squash, acorn
Cucurbita pepo,
Cucurbita ficifolia
West Indies, S. America4
[3], [4], [5]
squash, butternut
Cucurbita moschata
Mexico or South America4
[3], [4], [5]
squash, crookneck
Cucurbita pepo
Mexico, SE US [4]
[3], [4]
squash, hubbard
Cucurbita
argyrospermaa
Mexico or South America [4]
[3], [4], [5]
squash, ornamental
Cucurbita pepo
Mexico, SE US [4]
[3], [4], [5]
squash, spaghetti
Cucurbita pepo
Mexico, SE US [4]
[3], [4], [5]
squash, summer
Cucurbita pepo
SE USA, Mexico [4]
[3], [4], [5]
squash, turban
Cucurbita argyrosperma
Mexico or S America [4]
[3], [4], [5]
squash, winter
Cucurbita argyrospermaa,
Cucurbita maxima
Cucurbita moschata, Cucurbita  pepo
SE USA to South America [4]
[3], [4], [5]
watermelon
Citrullus lanatus var.lanatusb
Central Africa [4]
Seeds in Egypt 2000 BC [2], [4], [5]
Mediterranean region from 1000 BC. [5] Watermelons vary in size, shape (round to oblong to elliptical, color of rind (hues of green, with or without stripes or spots), color of flesh (white to red to yellow or orange) and color of seeds (white to reddish brown and black): these variant forms were recorded by the European Middle Ages [2] See pictures in [6]
zucchini
Cucurbita pepo
Mexico [4]
[2], [4], [5]
 
NOTES
a Cucurbita mixta is an outdated name of Cucurbita argyrosperma
b Citrullus vulgaris is an outdated scientific name for Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus, watermelon [5]
c Lagenaria vulgaris and L. leucantha are outdated scientific names for bottle gourd, L. siceraria1
d Luffa aegyptica is an outdated scientific name for luffa, L. cylindrica1
 
Earliest archaelogical finding  (domestication) of: Cucurbita argyrosperma 5000 BC Mexico [3]; Cucurbita ficifolia, Peru 1000 BC [3]; Cucurbita maxima:  Peru, 2000 BC [3] ;Cucurbita moschata 4900 BC, southern Mexico [3];  Cucurbita pepo, southern Mexico 8000 BC [3].
 
Comments: 
 
Squashes:  The common names of the squashes are all mixed up, but all are New World.  Many reached Europe very early in the 16th century:  see pictures in Festoons of Cupid and Psyche [6]
 
Gourds: Bottle gourd is Old World (and New World) and has many forms.  Some other gourds are clearly New World species.
 
Melons: All are Old World but while most are Cucumis (or Citrullus) there are bitter melons and other minor species pictured in 1517 (see 6 )
 
Pumpkins:  this group is very mixed up.  Most if not all modern pumpkins are New World.  The term "pompon" in French is pre-1492, however, and must refer to small melons of some sort.
 
References
 
[1] Bates, David M., Laura C. Merrick, and Richard W. Robertson. 1995.  Minor cucurbits.  Pp. 105-111 IN: J. Smartt and N. W. Simmonds.  Evolution of Crop Plants. 2nd ed. Longman Scientific and Technical, London.
 
[2] Bates, David M. and Richard W. Robertson. 1995.  Cucumbers, melons and water-melons.  Pp. 89-96 IN: J. Smartt and N. W. Simmonds.  Evolution of Crop Plants. 2nd ed. Longman Scientific and Technical, London.
 
[3] Merrick, Laura C. 1995.  Squashes, pumpkins and gourds.  Pp. 97-105 IN: J. Smartt and N. W. Simmonds.  Evolution of Crop Plants. 2nd ed. Longman Scientific and Technical, London.
 
[4] Simpson, Beryl B. and Molly C. Ogorzaly. 2001. Economic botany. Plants in our world. 3rd ed. McGraw Hill-Boston.
 
[5] Vaughan, J. G. and C. A. Geissler. 1997.  The new Oxford book of food plants. Oxford University Press, Oxford U.K.
 
[6] Whipkey,  Anna and Jules Janick  2005. The festoons of the Cupid and Psyche in the Loggia in the Villa Farnesina. An interactive database http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/udine/info.html
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Copyright 2009 by Holly Howarth. <sablegreyhound at hotmail.com>. Permission is granted for republication in SCA-related publications, provided the author is credited.  Addresses change, but a reasonable attempt should be made to ensure that the author is notified of the publication and if possible receives a copy.

If this article is reprinted in a publication, please place a notice in the publication that you found this article in the Florilegium. I would also appreciate an email to myself, so that I can track which articles are being reprinted. Thanks. -Stefan.

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Edited by Mark S. Harris	Melons-Squash-art	5 of 5