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 ↓
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
- Winter MelonBenincasa hispida
- Colocynth, Indian Wild Gourd, Citron, Bitter Apple, Vine Of SodomCitrullus colocynthis
- WatermelonCitrullus lanatus
- Ivy Gourd, Scarlet Gourd, TindoraCoccinia grandis
- Redfruit CreeperCorallocarpus epigaeus
- Muskmelon, SweetmelonCucumis callosus
- MuskmelonCucumis melo var. agrestis
- Melon, Cucumber, Common CucumberCucumis melo var. melo
- Wild CucumberCucumis prophetarum
- CucumberCucumis sativus f. hardwickii
- Winter SquashCucurbita maxima
- Crooknecked Squash, Musk MelonCucurbita moschata
- PumpkinCucurbita pepo
- Lollipop ClimberDiplocyclos palmatus
- Stinky HaapKedrostis foetidissima
- Bottle Gourd, Calbash GourdLagenaria siceraria
- Angled LuffaLuffa acutangula
- Sponge Gourd, Smooth Loofah, Vegetable SpongeLuffa aegyptiaca
- Bitter MelonMomordica charantia
- Teasle GourdMomordica dioica
- Teasle GourdMomordica subangulata
- Madras Pea PumpkinMukia maderaspatana
- ChayoteSicyos edulis
- Creeping CucumberSolena amplexicaulis
- Wild Snake Gourd, Malabar PatolaTrichosanthes cucumerina
- Red-Ball Snake GourdTrichosanthes tricuspidata
- Mysore CucamelonZehneria maysorensis
- Wild CucumberZehneria scabra
- Bryonopsis laciniosa
- Ctenolepis garcini
- Gymnopetalum wightii
- Mukia leiosperma
- Zehneria maysorensis var. umbellata
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