Halwa Kaddu / Crooknecked Squash
Cucurbita moschata
Also known as Musk Melon
- Habit
- Climber
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu & more
- Flowering
- September-June
How to identify Halwa Kaddu
Identify Halwa Kaddu by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a climber habit.
- Confirm flower colour: Yellow.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: September-June.
- In India, compare location records such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Cucurbitaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Halwa Kaddu.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Cucurbita moschata
- Genus
- Cucurbita
- Family
- Cucurbitaceae
- Habit
- Climber
- Habitat
- Garden plant
- Habitat type
- Cultivated
- Native to
- Tropical and subtropical America
- Distribution
- Tropical and Subtropical
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal
- Flowering & fruiting
- September-June
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Typical of the Cucurbitaceae family — a field-mark hint, not measured for this exact species.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Yellowrecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Solitary
- Fruit
- Berry
Characters marked “recorded” are for Halwa Kaddu itself; the rest are typical of the Cucurbitaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- हलवा कद्दू halwa kaddu, काशीफल kashiphal, मीठा कद्दू mitha kaddu
- Bengali
- কুমড়া kumara
- Tamil
- பூசனி pucani
- Telugu
- గుమ్మడి gummadi
- Kannada
- ಸಿಹಿ ಕುಂಬಳ ಕಾಯಿ sihi kumbala kaayi
- Malayalam
- കുമ്പളം kumpalam, മത്തങ്ങ mattanna
- Marathi
- काळा भोपळा kala bhopala, काशीफळ kashiphal
About Halwa Kaddu
Crooknecked Squash (Cucurbita moschata) is a climber in the Cucurbitaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and 9 other states. It grows in garden plant. Flowering and fruiting run from September to June.
Uses
In practice it is grown for parts that are eaten.
Cucurbitaceae
Cucumber/Gourd family
Halwa Kaddu belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Cucurbitaceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Halwa Kaddu or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.
Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guides