Cucurbita foetidissima
{{Short description|North American species of gourd}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Cucurbita foetidissima compose.jpg
| image_caption = Buffalo gourd plant, male flower and fruits.
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status2 = {{TNCStatus}}
| status2_system = TNC
| genus = Cucurbita
| species = foetidissima
| authority = Kunth
| synonyms_ref = {{cite POWO |id=292371-1 |title=Cucurbita foetidissima Kunth |access-date=6 March 2024}}
| synonyms = {{Species list
| Cucumis foetidissimus | Hemsl. (1880)
| Cucumis perennis | E.James (1823)
| Cucurbita perennis | (E.James) A.Gray (1850)
| Ozodycus perennis | (E.James) Raf. (1832)
| Pepo foetidissimus | (Kunth) Britton (1913)
}}
}}
Cucurbita foetidissima is a tuberous xerophytic plant found in the central and southwestern United States and northern Mexico.{{cite journal | last1 = Bemis | first1 = W. P. | last2 = Whitaker | first2 = Thomas W. | author-link2 = Thomas W. Whitaker | date =April 1969 | title = The Xerophytic Cucurbita of Northwestern Mexico and Southwestern United States | journal = Madroño | volume = 20 | issue = 2 | pages = 33–41 | publisher = California Botanical Society | jstor = 41423342}} It has numerous common names, but is most commonly called the buffalo gourd in English. The type specimen was collected from Mexico by Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland sometime before 1817. In Latin, foetidissima means most unpleasant smell.
The buffalo gourd has evolved in the semiarid regions and is well-adapted to desert environments. It contains high amounts of protein and carbohydrates and yields abundant oil.{{cite journal |first1=J. |last1=Bemis |first2=L. |last2=Curtis |first3=C. |last3=Weber |first4=J. |last4=Berry |date=1978 |title=The Feral Buffalo Gourd, Cucurbita foetidissima |journal=Economic Botany |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=87–95| doi = 10.1007/bf02906733 |bibcode=1978EcBot..32...87B |s2cid=43414271 }} The carbohydrates that are formed in the tap root have led to the idea of growing the plant for biofuel.{{cite journal |last=Smeal |first=D. |date=1997 |title=Carbohydrate biofuels. III. Consumptive-use and root yield of buffalo gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima HBK) |journal=Fuel and Energy Abstracts |volume=38 |issue=5 |pages=325 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6701(97)81177-0 }}{{cite book |last=Blume |first=David |date=2007 |title=Alcohol Can Be a Gas! Fueling an Ethanol Revolution for the 21st Century |publisher=The International Institute For Ecological Agriculture}}
The fruit is consumed by both humans and animals. When mature, a stage marked by increasing desiccation of vine, leaves, fruit-stem, and fruit, the fruit begins its final gourd stage.
Geographic location and genetics make it highly likely that Cucurbita scabridifolia originated as a naturally occurring hybrid of C. foetidissima and Cucurbita pedatifolia.{{cite journal|last=Andres|first= Thomas C.|date=1987|title=Relationship of Cucurbita scabridifolia to C. foetidissima and C. pedatifolia: A Case of Natural Interspecific Hybridization|url=http://cuke.hort.ncsu.edu/cgc/cgc10/cgc10-38.html|journal= Cucurbit Genetics Cooperative Report|publisher=North Carolina State University|location=Raleigh, NC|volume=10|pages=74–75}}
Morphology and cultivation
Cucurbita foetidissima requires little water and grows best in semiarid and arid environments.{{cite journal |first1=J. |last1=Berry |first2=J. |last2=Bemis |first3=C. |last3=Weber |first4=T. |last4=Philip |date=1975 |title=Cucurbit Root Starches: Isolation and Some Properties of Starches from Cucurbita foetidissima HBK and Cucurbita digital |journal=Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=825–826 |doi=10.1021/jf60200a020|pmid=1141535 }} Warm weather is required during the five- to eight-month vegetation period.{{cite book |first=J. |last=Bemis |title=Underexploited Tropical Plants with Promising Economic Value |publisher=National Research Council |date=1975 |pages=94–99 |isbn=978-0-89499-186-8 }} This perennial is well adapted to marginal agricultural lands such as sandy loam soils which have to be well-drained. Germination temperature range is between 15 °C and 37 °C with an optimum at 25 °C.
The maximum depth for a successful germination is 12 cm. The germination is possible in a pH range from 2.2 (germination rate 15%) up to pH 8 (germination rate 90%).{{cite journal |first1=M. |last1=Horak |first2=J. |last2=Sweat |date=1994 |title=Germination, Emergence, and Seedling Establishment of Buffalo Gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima) |journal= Weed Science|volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=358–363 |doi=10.1017/S0043174500076621 |s2cid=132074382 }} Asexual propagation is possible from nodal roots.
The leaves of the buffalo gourd are typically entire and heart-shaped with a base of {{convert|10|–|13|cm|in|abbr=on|0}} and length of {{convert|20|–|25|cm|in|abbr=on|0}}. The flowers are borne singly at the nodes of the vines after a certain amount of annual vegetative growth has taken place.
The fruit has a diameter of {{convert|7|–|10|cm|in|abbr=on|0}}. The fruit weighs 120 g to 150 g, with 292 to 315 seeds per fruit. The seeds, which are {{convert|12|mm|in|abbr=on|1}} long and {{convert|7|mm|in|abbr=on|1}} wide, weigh about 4 g per 100 seeds, with the seed coat accounting for about 30% of the seed weight. The seeds often remain viable for months or even years within an undamaged gourd. One hectare of plants can produce 2.5 tons of seed.
The plant forms a fleshy tap root that is used as a storage and overwintering structure. The central tap root can weigh up to {{convert|72|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. A four-year-old root grown under cultivation can reach a fresh weight of {{convert|45|kg|lb|abbr=on|0}} and a length of {{convert|2.5|m|ft|abbr=on}}.
Taxonomy
Cucurbita foetidissima was scientifically described and named by the botanist Carl Sigismund Kunth in 1817.{{cite book |last1=Bonpland |first1=Aimé |last2=Humboldt |first2=Alexander von |last3=Kunth |first3=Karl Sigismund |author1-link=Aimé Bonpland |author2-link=Alexander von Humboldt |author3-link=Carl Sigismund Kunth |title=Nova Genera et Species Plantarum: Quas in Peregrinatione ad Plagam Aequinoctialem Orbis Novi Collegerunt, Descripserunt, Partim Adumbraverunt Amat. Bonpland et Alex. de Humboldt |date=1817 |publisher=Ex officina Christophori Plantini |page=123 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/5098 |language=Latin}}
=Names=
| class=wikitable
|+ Common Names for Cucurbita foetidissima ! Language of Origin ! Common Name | |
| English | buffalo gourd,{{cite web |url=http://www.tropicos.org/Name/9200153 |title=Name - Cucurbita foetidissima Kunth |work=Tropicos |publisher=Missouri Botanical Garden |location=Saint Louis, Missouri |access-date=December 11, 2012}} Cucurbita foetidissima was originally described and published in Nova Genera et Species Plantarum (quarto ed.) 2: 123. 1817. |
| Spanish | |
| Spanish | |
| English | |
| English
| prairie gourd {{GRIN | access-date=December 11, 2012}} | |
| English | |
| English | |
| English | |
| English
| stinking gourd | |
| English | |
| English |
Distribution
Cucurbita foetidissima is native to North America. It is found in the central and southwestern United States,{{cite web| url= http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=Cucurbita%20foetidissima |title= Cucurbita foetidissima Kunth| publisher= SEINet, Southwestern Biodiversity, Arizona–New Mexico Chapter| website= swbiodiversity.org| date=| access-date= November 16, 2022}} in: Arizona, Arkansas, southern California, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, southern Nebraska, southern Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and southern Utah.{{cite web| url= http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Cucurbita%20foetidissima.png |website= bonap.net| publisher= Biota of North America Program |year= 2014 |title= Cucurbita foetidissima distribution map| access-date= November 16, 2022}} In Mexico, it can be found in Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo; northern Jalisco, Mexico; Nuevo León, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas.
Uses
The buffalo gourd has the potential of being a crop adapted to arid to semiarid lands. It is also used as a durable groundcover for hiding and protecting banks from erosion.{{cite book |last1=Barr |first1=Claude A. |title=Jewels of the plains : wild flowers of the Great Plains grasslands and hills |date=1983 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |location=Minneapolis |isbn=0-8166-1127-0 |page=64}}
=Food=
The fresh young gourd can be eaten like squash. The mature fruit is no longer edible, due to bitter compounds. Seeds may be eaten after being prepared by roasting or boiling.{{Cite journal|last1=Cutler|first1=Hugh C.|last2=Whitaker|first2=Thomas W.|date=1961-01-01|title=History and Distribution of the Cultivated Cucurbits in the Americas|jstor=278735|journal=American Antiquity|volume=26|issue=4|pages=469–485|doi=10.2307/278735|s2cid=161495351 }}
The extractable oil content in whole seeds reaches from 24.3% to 50%. Linoleic acid, an essential polyunsaturated fatty acid, comprises 38% to 65% of the oil. A characterization of the oils from buffalo gourd indicates that this oil is similar to other common edible oils.{{cite journal |first1=J. |last1=Vasconcellos |first2=J. |last2=Berry |first3=C. Weber |last3=J. Bemis |first4=J. |last4=Scheerens |date=1980 |title =The properties of Cucurbita foetidissima seed oil |journal=Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society|volume=57 |issue=9 |pages=310–313 |doi=10.1007/bf02662214|s2cid=83524641 }} Whole buffalo gourd seeds contain approximately 31% crude protein, which is usable for human consumption and for feed.
Starches are mainly located in the tap root, which forms after the first year of growth. The starch content in the dried root is between 47.5%{{cite journal |first1=J. |last1=Nelson |first2=J. |last2=Scheerens |first3=D. |last3=Bucks |first4=J. |last4=Berry |date=1989 |title=Irrigation Effects on Water Use, and Production of Tap Roots and Starch of Buffalo Gourd |journal=Agronomy Journal |volume=81 |issue=3 |pages=439–442 |doi=10.2134/agronj1989.00021962008100030008x|bibcode=1989AgrJ...81..439N }} and 56%. Fresh leaves or the whole plants can be used as animal food.
=Traditional use=
The Zuni people use a medicinal poultice of powdered seeds, flowers and saliva for swellings.{{cite journal |last1=Camazine |first1=Scott |first2=Robert A. |last2=Bye |date=1980 |title=A Study of the Medical Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians of New Mexico |journal=Journal of Ethnopharmacology |volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=375; 365–388 |doi=10.1016/s0378-8741(80)81017-8|pmid=6893476 }}
C. foetidissima contains a saponin that can be obtained from the fruit and root. In the Cahuilla Native American culture, the fruit and other parts of the plant have been used for their saponin content as laundry soap by rubbing plant parts against dirty clothing.{{cite book |first1=Lowell J.| last1= Bean | first2= Katherine Siva |last2= Saubel| author-link2= Katherine Siva Saubel |title=Temalpakh: Cahuilla Indian Knowledge and Usage of Plants |publisher=Malki Museum Press, Morongo Indian Reservation |date=1972 |page=57}} However, prolonged contact can cause skin irritation.{{cite journal |last1= Cutler| first1= H.C. |last2=Whitaker|first2=T.W. |year=1961 |title=History and Distribution of the Cultivated Cucurbits in the Americas |journal=American Antiquity |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=469–485 |jstor=278735 |doi= 10.2307/278735| s2cid= 161495351 }}{{subscription required}}{{cite book |last1=Heiser|first1= Charles B.|year=2016|title=The Gourd Book |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |location= Norman, Oklahoma |pages= 9, 33–34|isbn=978-0806155678}}
=Industrial use=
Besides food, the protein can be used for industrial purposes (water paints, paper coating, adhesives and textile sizing). Biodiesel can be produced from the oil in the seeds.{{cite journal |first1=A. |last1=Kurki |first2=A. |last2=Hill |date=2006 |title=Biodiesel: The Sustainability Dimensions |journal=ATTRA |volume=3 |pages=458–467 }} But the main interest to produce renewable fuels is to produce biofuel with the carbohydrates which are located in the tap root.
Pests
Various insects may penetrate the hard skin of the gourd. External structures appear to prevent damage by most insects and the plant is highly resistant to cucumber beetle and squash bug. White molds seem to result in smooth surface areas and black molds often form circular patterns.
Gallery
File:Cucurbita foetidissima (Buffalo Gourd) O0G292G8.jpg|Cucurbita foetidissima in Aurora, Colorado
File:Cucurbita foetidissima staminate flower 2003-05-19.jpg|Staminate (male) flower, Pomona, California
File:Cucurbita foetidissima, gourd close up.jpg|Immature buffalo gourd, close up photo, Albuquerque, New Mexico
File:Cucurbita foetidissima.JPG|Mature fruit, Austin, Texas
File:Cucurbita_foetidissima_-_inside_view.jpg|Interior view, Newport Beach Back Bay, California
File:Cucurbita foetidissima (Buffalo Gourd) H92H39029.jpg| Leaf of C. foetidissima in Aurora, Colorado
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
{{Commons category|Cucurbita foetidissima}}
- [http://www.tropicos.org/Image/100138676 photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in northeastern Mexico (probably Nuevo León) in 1847]
{{Squashes and pumpkins}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q311136}}
Category:Plants described in 1817
Category:Flora of the United States
Category:Plants used in traditional Native American medicine