The pumpkin is a member of the gourd (Cucurbitaceae) family,
which consists of more than 500 species of tendril-bearing and
fruit or vegetable-producing vines, such as cucumber and
cantaloupe. The six species we call “pumpkin” are varieties of
squash in the Cucurbita genus, all of which are indigenous to
the Americas. While we generally treat these gourds as
vegetables, we sometimes debate whether pumpkin is a vegetable
or fruit. Here’s your chance to settle the argument once and for
all: technically, by definition, the pumpkin is a fruit, more
specifically a berry—one that can weigh just a few ounces or
more than 1,000 pounds.
As they say in real estate, location is everything when it comes
to a pumpkin patch because it determines what species will be
picked. Not all pumpkins are orange; they
can be yellow, red, green, blue or white, with some displaying variegated shell
patterns. The pumpkin commonly used for pies and porch décor is
the Cucurbita pepo, a northeastern American species that can
weigh up to 18 pounds and is characterized by a bright orange,
ridged shell and firm flesh. Another northern species is C.
maximus, which is closely related to the banana but can be white
or blue in color. As the name suggests, these are the big boys
and the model for the Great Pumpkin that Charlie Brown pines for
every Halloween. The southern cheese pumpkin (C. moschata) is
closely related to the butternut squash, tan in color and
so-called because it resembles a wheel of cheese. Finally,
there’s C. argyrosperma, the southwestern S-shaped species that
sports white and green stripes.
