CUCURBITACEAE - GOURD FAMILY
Scientific Description:
Herbs, climbing or trailing, usually with tendrils. Leaves alternate, simple,palmately veined. Tendrils lateral to the leaf-base, simple or branches. Flowersunisexual, monoecious or dioecious, axillary, the male usually racemose, thefemale usually solitary. Hypanthium rather short, campanulate or obconic;sepals 5, usually small. Petals 5, usually ± united at least at the base. Stamens 3, 2 double, 1 single, free or variously united. Anther-thecae flexuous or contorted.Ovary inferior, syncarpous, unilocular. Ovules many, horizontal, parietal. Style 1;stigmas 3, bilobed. Fruit a berry or firm-walled berry (pepo) or a fleshy capsule,often large. Seeds large, without endosperm.
Reference:
Davis PH (1972). Cucurbitaceae, In: Davis PH (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 4: 220−221.
Public Description:
“Gourd family” or “Cucurbits”, is distributed in both the eastern and western hemispheres relatively equally. The plants in this family are grown in tropical and temperate regions and are among the earliest food crops grown in these regions.Many food plants such as cucumber, pumpkin, squash, watermelon and melon belong to this family.Most species are extremely sensitive to temperatures near freezing, a factor that limits their geographic distribution and area of cultivation.Most of the plants in this family are annual vines, but some are woody lianas, thorny shrubs, or trees. Many species have large, yellow or white flowers.
References:
Anonymous 1 (2018). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucurbitaceae, Accessed date: 30.01.2018.
Anonymous 2 (2018). http://academics.hamilton.edu/foodforthought/our_research_files/cucurbitaceae.pdf, Accessed date: 30.01.2018.
Anonymous 3 (2018). https://www.britannica.com/plant/Cucurbitaceae,Accessed date: 30.01.2018.
