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Cucurbitaceae FAMILY

Cucurbita maxima andreana

Cucurbita maxima andreana

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitAnnual Climber
GrowthFast

Cucurbita maxima andreana is native to the warm temperate regions of Argentina and Uruguay, and is also found in more tropical regions in Bolivia. Requires a rich, well-drained moisture retentive soil and a sheltered position in the sun or light shade[1, 2, 3]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 to 7.5, but tolerates 5 - 8.5[2, 4]. Dry periods with a relatively low humidity favour the best growth - plants are more susceptible to leaf diseases in damp seasons[5, 6]. This species is the wild progenitor of the cultivated Cucurbita maxima[7].

Propagation

Seed - sow early to mid spring in a greenhouse in a rich soil. Germination should take place within 2 weeks. Sow 2 or 3 seeds per pot and thin out to the best plant. Grow them on fast and plant out after the last expected frosts, giving them cloche or frame protection for at least their first few weeks if you are trying them outdoors. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Cucurbita+maxima+andreana>

Pollinators

Bees, Insects

References

  1. [1]The Gardener's Assistant. — Thompson. B. · Blackie and Son. · 1878 · ISBN - ↩︎Excellent general but extensive guide to gardening practices in the 19th century. A very good section on fruits and vegetables with many little known species.
  2. [2]Gourds. — Organ. J. · Faber · 1963 · ISBN - ↩︎Deals with squashes and their relatives. Interesting and readable, it gives cultivation techniques and some details of plant uses.
  3. [3]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
  4. [4]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  5. [5]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  6. [6]Vegetables in the Tropics — Tindall. H. D. · MacMillan, Oxford. · 1983 · ISBN 0-333-24268-8 ↩︎An excellent, in-depth look at the main vegetable crops that can be grown in the Tropics, plus many less well-known plants.
  7. [7]Anticancer and antiinflammatory activities of cucurbitacins from Cucurbita andreana — Jayaprakasam B. et al · 2003 ↩︎
  8. [8]The Domestication of Cucurbita (Cucurbitaceae) — Nee M. · 1990 ↩︎