Cucurbita ficifolia is an annual vine or trailing plant grown at high altitudes for its edible seeds, fruit, and greens. English names for the plant include chilacayote, fig-leaved gourd, malabar gourd, Thai marrow, and pie melon. It shows considerable biochemical difference from the other members of its genus, and does not hybridize readily with them. Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Divisions Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants Adiantum pedatum (a fern... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also angiosperms or Magnoliophyta) are one of the major groups of modern plants, comprising those that produce seeds in specialized reproductive organs called flowers, where the ovulary or carpel is enclosed. ... Orders see text Dicotyledons or dicots are flowering plants whose seed contains two embryonic leaves or cotyledons. ... Families Cucurbitaceae (gourd family) Begoniaceae (begonia family) Datiscaceae Tetramelaceae Corynocarpaceae Coriariaceae Anisophylleaceae The Cucurbitales are an order of flowering plants, included in the rosid group of dicotyledons. ... Genera Abobra Acanthosicyos Actinostemma Alsomitra Ampelosycios Anacaona Apatzingania Apodanthera Bambekea Benincasa Biswarea Bolbostemma Brandegea Bryonia Calycophysum Cayaponia Cephalopentandra Ceratosanthes Chalema Cionosicyos Citrullus Coccinia Cogniauxia Corallocarpus Cremastopus Ctenolepis Cucumella Cucumeropsis Cucumis Cucurbita Cucurbitella Cyclanthera Dactyliandra Dendrosicyos Dicoelospermum Dieterlea Diplocyclos Doyerea Ecballium Echinocystis Echinopepon Edgaria Elateriopsis Eureiandra Fevillea Gerrardanthus Gomphogyne Gurania Guraniopsis... Species - fingerleaf gourd - figleaf gourd - wild gourd, wild pumpkin - winter squash, pumpkin - pumpkin - crookneck squash - vegetable marrow, field pumpkin References: ITIS 22365 2002-11-06 Cucurbita is a genus in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... An annual is a plant that usually germinates, flowers and dies in one year. ... The term vine was originally a term for the plant on which grapes grew, from the word for wine (Greek oinos), for which grapes were grown. ... SEED is a block cipher developed by the Korean Information Security Agency. ... Fruit stall in Barcelona, Catalonia. ... Leaf vegetables, also called greens or leafy greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. ...

Origin and distribution

It is native to the Americas, although the exact center of domestication is unclear. Linguistic evidence suggests Mexico, because of the wide use of Nahuatl-derived names as far south as Argentina, while archaeological evidence suggests Peru, because the earliest remains have been found there. Biosystematics have been unable to confirm either hypothesis. Map of America by Jonghe, c. ... Domesticated animals, plants, and other organisms are those whose collective behavior, life cycle, or physiology has been altered as a result of their breeding and living conditions being under human control for multiple generations. ... Nahuatl is a native language of central Mexico. ...

It is now grown in many parts of Eurasia, from France to India to Japan. African-Eurasian aspect of Earth Eurasia is the landmass composed of the continents of Europe and Asia. ...

Uses

The most important use of Cucurbita ficifolia is for its fat- and protein-rich seeds. They are used along with honey to make palenquetas, a dessert. Fat is one of the three main classes of food and, at approximately 38 kJ (9 kilocalories) per gram, as compared to sugar with 17 kJ (4 kcal) per gram or ethanol with 29 kJ (7 kcal) per gram, the most concentrated form of metabolic energy available to humans. ... A representation of the 3D structure of myoglobin, showing coloured alpha helices. ... SEED is a block cipher developed by the Korean Information Security Agency. ... Honey honey comb A capped frame of honeycomb Honey is a sweet and viscous fluid produced by bees and other insects from the nectar of flowers. ... WINKY DESSERTS!!!!!! ...

The second most important use is for its fruit. The immature fruit is cooked as a vegetable, while the mature fruit is sweet, and used to make confectionary and beverages, sometimes alcoholic. The fruit has a low beta-carotene content, as can be seen from its white flesh. It has a moderate content of carbohydrates, and a relatively low content of vitamins and minerals. Fruit stall in Barcelona, Catalonia. ... Vegetables in a market Vegetable is a culinary term denoting any part of a plant that is commonly consumed by humans as food, but is not regarded as a culinary grain, fruit, nut, herb, or spice. ... The term confectionery refers to food items rich in sugar. ... The word drink is primarily a verb, meaning to ingest liquids, see Drinking. ... Bottles of cachaça, a Brazilian alcoholic beverage. ... Carotene is a terpene, an orange photosynthetic pigment, important for photosynthesis. ... Carbohydrates are chemical compounds that contain oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon atoms. ... A Vitamin is an organic molecule required by a living organism in minute amounts for proper health. ... Dietary minerals are the inorganic, indestructible elements that aid physiological processes within the body. ...

The flowers, leaves and young shoots are used as greens. The vine and fruit are used for fodder. Wildflowers Flower (Latin flos, floris; French fleur), a term popularly used for the bloom or blossom of a plant, is the reproductive structure of those plants classified as angiosperms (flowering plants; Division Magnoliophyta). ... In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. ... In botany, a shoot is more or less synonamous with the term stem For biological and botanical definitions and information, see the main article on stems Shoots function in providing an axis for buds, fruits and leaves. ... Leaf vegetables, also called greens or leafy greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. ... In agriculture, fodder or animal feed is any foodstuff that is used specifically to feed livestock, such as cattle, sheep, chickens and pigs. ...

External links

• Neglected crops: 1492 from a different perspective (ch 10)

• Multilingual taxonomic information from the University of Melbourne