Cucurbitoideae

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = 0892 Narafrucht Sossusvlei.JPG

| image_caption = Acanthosicyos horridus, a member of the Cucurbitoideae native to Namibia

| taxon = Cucurbitoideae

| authority = Eaton

| subdivision_ranks = Tribes

| subdivision =

}}

The Cucurbitoideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Cucurbitaceae (gourds). The Cucurbitaceae are divided into two subfamilies, the Zanonioideae, probably a paraphyletic group of remainders, and the well-supported monophyletic Cucurbitoideae.{{cite book |author1=Donoghue, Michael J. |author2=Judd, Walter S. |author3=Campbell, Christopher |author4=Elizabeth A. Kellogg |author5=Stevens, Peter F. |title=Plant Systematics: A Phylogenetic Approach |publisher=Sinauer Associates |location=Sunderland, Mass |year=2008 |isbn=0-87893-407-3 }}

The subfamily Cucurbitoideae consists of eight tribes. Members of the tribe Cucurbiteae produce economically valuable fruits, called gourds, which include crops like squashes (including pumpkins), luffas, and melons (including watermelons).{{cite book |author=Mabberley, David |title=Mabberley's Plant-Book: a Portable Dictionary of Plants, their Classification and Uses |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |year=2008 |isbn=0-521-82071-5 }} The tribe Benincaseae contains a genus called Lagenaria whose members produce gourds that can be eaten when young or whose ripe shells can be dried and used as containers.{{cite web|url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?6467|title=Lagenaria Ser.|publisher=United States Department of Agriculture|work=Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN)|access-date=September 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029184817/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?6467|archive-date=October 29, 2013|url-status=dead}}

References

Category:Rosid subfamilies