Types of Vines

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Gourd Family

Cucumber, common name for a trailing or climbing annual herb of the gourd family. Native to Asia, it is widely cultivated in North America and Europe for the immature fruit, which resembles a long, green cylinder. The fruit is picked at various stages of development and is usually eaten raw or pickled. Small cucumbers, picked when they are 5 to 8 cm (2 to 3 in) long, are known as gherkins. Different varieties of cucumbers vary in length from about 10 to 76 cm (about 4 to 30 in). If the cucumber is allowed to mature, the fruit bulges in the middle, changes in color from green to yellow, and is not fit to eat.

Scientific classification: The cucumber belongs to the family Cucurbitaceae. It is classified as Cucumis sativus.

Gourd, common name for a family of plants consisting of characteristically rapid-growing vines with palmately lobed leaves, helically twisted tendrils, and often showy, unisexual flowers. The family contains about 760 species that are distributed mainly in the subtropical and tropical regions of the world. It is of importance as a source of food for humans, mostly as squashes and melons; it also provides fiber and ornamental plants.

Scientific classification: Gourds constitute the family Cucurbitaceae in the order Violales. The bottle gourd, or calabash, is classified as Lagernaria siceraria. Winter squashes are classified in the genus Cucurbita. The cucumber is classified as Cucumis sativus, the cantaloupe as Cucumis melo.

Pumpkin, one of the common names for a genus of flowering plants that are characteristically spreading vines with showy yellow-orange flowers, large lobed leaves, and long twisting tendrils. The pumpkin genus is native to warmer parts of America and is an economically important member of the gourd family.

Scientific classification: Pumpkins make up the genus Cucurbita of the family Cucurbitaceae. The four different species of the genus producing pumpkins, squash, and some kinds of gourd are classified as Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita moschata, and Cucurbita pepo. Summer squash is from Cucurbita pepo.

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