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Botanical Family · Cucurbitales

Cucurbitaceae

Cucumber/Gourd family

33 speciesOrder Cucurbitales8+ well-known plants

The gourd or cucumber family, one of the most important vegetable-producing families: cucumber, pumpkin, watermelon, melon, and bitter gourd. Mostly climbing herbs with tendrils, unisexual flowers, and large fleshy pepo fruits. Almost exclusively found in warm climates.

Browse all 33 species ↓
Representative CUCURBITACEAE specimen
Representative specimen · Cucurbitaceae
Key pattern

Vining plants with tendrils and often palmate leaves; 5 united petals in a funnel shape above an inferior, many-seeded ovary.

Includes the gourds, melons and cucumbers — cutting one crosswise reveals the family's characteristic multi-chambered ovary pattern.

Identify the species

Which Cucurbitaceae species is this?

Answer what you can see and narrow it down to a single Cucurbitaceae species.

Click a node to trace its path · pinch or scroll to zoom · drag to pan
Fruit ShapeWhat does the fruit look like?
Bottle-shaped
Ellipsoid-striped
Elongated-club
Long-warty
Not sure / other
Oval-spiny
Pear-shaped-single-seed
Ridged-angled
Round-flattened
Small-striped-globose
Smooth-cylindrical
Fruit SizeHow big is the mature fruit?
Large
Not sure / other
Small
Leaf MarginWhat shape is the leaf edge?
Clasping-stem
Finely-divided-comblike
Lobed
Not sure / other
Toothed
Leaf TextureHow does the leaf surface feel?
Not sure / other
Scabrous-rough
Smooth
Flower ColorWhat color are the flowers?
White
Yellow
Flower ColorWhat color are the flowers?
White
Yellow
Fruit SizeHow big is the mature fruit?
Large
Small
Leaf MarginWhat shape is the leaf edge?
Deeply-lobed-laciniate
Lobed
Leaf MarginWhat shape is the leaf edge?
Deeply-lobed-laciniate
Palmately-lobed

How to recognise the Cucurbitaceae family

  • 01

    Tendrilled climbing or prostrate herbs

  • 02

    Unisexual flowers (monoecious)

  • 03

    Pepo fruit (modified berry with hard rind)

Typical leaf characters

Characters typical of the family — individual species can vary.

Typical flower & fruit

Typical of the family — flowering plants only; species can vary.

Notable members

Winter MelonBenincasa hispidaColocynth, Indian Wild Gourd, Citron, Bitter Apple, Vine Of SodomCitrullus colocynthisWatermelonCitrullus lanatusIvy Gourd, Scarlet Gourd, TindoraCoccinia grandisRedfruit CreeperCorallocarpus epigaeusMuskmelon, SweetmelonCucumis callosusMuskmelonCucumis melo var. agrestisMelon, Cucumber, Common CucumberCucumis melo var. melo

All 33 species in CUCURBITACEAE

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