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Cucurbita moschata
Cucurbitaceae FAMILY

Cucurbita moschata

Cucurbita moschata

Edibility
5/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

The sprouting seed produces a toxic substance in its embryo[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitAnnual Climber
GrowthFast

Most cultivars of Cucurbita moschata are relatively insensitive to day-length[2], and so the plant can be grown from the temperate zone to the tropics, so long as there is a warm growing season of at least 150 days. It can be grown at elevations up to 2,400 metres in the tropics. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 20 - 30°c, but can tolerate 10 - 40°c[3]. It can be killed by temperatures of 0°c or lower. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 600 - 1,600mm, but tolerates 300 - 2,800mm[3]. It is well adapted to the hot and humid environment of the lowland tropics, but optimal production is obtained in areas with fairly low humidity[3]. Requires a rich, well-drained moisture retentive soil and a very warm, sunny and sheltered position[4, 5, 6]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 to 7.5, tolerating 4.5 - 8.3[6, 3]. Moderate rainfall favours growth, but the roots of most cultivars are sensitive to high soil-water levels[2]. Under low input conditions, a yield of around 5 - 15 tonnes of fruit per hectare can be obtained; with improved cultivars, a yield of 30 tonnes is attainable[7]. An average yield of leaves is 2 tonnes per hectare per picking, or about 20 tonnes during a harvest period of two months[7]. Seed yield is variable, possibly 300 - 500 kilos per hectare[7]a. If grown for seed production, isolation between fields of musk pumpkin and of other Cucurbita species is recommended, not only to maintain seed purity, but also to obtain maximum yields, since pollen of other species may cause reduced fruit set and parthenocarpic fruits[7]. There are very many named varieties widely differing in size shape and taste[8, 9]. Some varieties are used as soon as they are harvested, though others can be stored for several months after their harvest. Most cultivars are day-length neutral[2]. There are three major species in this genus that are cultivated for their fruits (Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita moschata and Cucurbita pepo), and they are often not easy to distinguish. The plant habit is similar and the fruit shape and size within each species are variable. Distinction is easiest by observing differences of the fruit stalk, stems and leaves:- Cucurbita maxima has a soft, rounded fruit stalk not enlarged at the apex, soft, rounded stems and soft, usually unlobed leaves[7]. Cucurbita moschata has a hard, smoothly angled fruit stalk widened at the apex, hard, smoothly grooved stems and soft, moderately lobed leaves[7]. Cucurbita pepo has an angular fruit stalk sometimes slightly widened at the apex, hard, angular, grooved, prickly stems and palmately lobed, often deeply cut and prickly leaves[7]. This species only hybridizes with other members of the genus under controlled conditions[6, 10].

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+moschata>

Pollinators

Bees, Insects

References

  1. [1]A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. — Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. · Wolfe · 1984 · ISBN 0723408394 ↩︎Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.
  2. [2]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.
  3. [3]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.
  4. [4]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  5. [5]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.
  6. [6]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.
  7. [7]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.
  8. [8]The Vegetable Garden. — Vilmorin. A. · Ten Speed Press · ISBN 0-89815-041-8 ↩︎A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though.
  9. [9]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  10. [10]The Plantsman. Vol.8. 1986 - 1987. — ? · Royal Horticultural Society · 1986 · ISBN - ↩︎Excerpts from the periodical giving cultivation details and other notes on some of the useful plants including some Cucurbitaceae.
  11. [11]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  12. [12]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  13. [13]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  14. [14]Plants for Man. — Schery. R. W. ↩︎Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.
  15. [15]A Barefoot Doctors Manual. — ? · Running Press; Philadelphica. · 1977 · ISBN 0-914294-92-X ↩︎A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.
  16. [16]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region
  17. [17]Medicinal Plants of China — Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. · Reference Publications, Inc. · 1985 · ISBN 0-917256-20-4 ↩︎Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
  18. [18]Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. — Chiej. R. · MacDonald · 1984 · ISBN 0-356-10541-5 ↩︎Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.
  19. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎