''Cucurbita galeottii'' is a plant species of the genus ''
Cucurbita
''Cucurbita'' (Latin for gourd) is a genus of herbaceous fruits in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae (also known as ''cucurbits'' or ''cucurbi''), native to the Andes and Mesoamerica. Five edible species are grown and consumed for their flesh and ...
''.
It is native to
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
, Mexico.
It has not been
domesticated
Domestication is a sustained multi-generational relationship in which humans assume a significant degree of control over the reproduction and care of another group of organisms to secure a more predictable supply of resources from that group. A ...
.
There is very little known about this species.
Nee reports that the species is a
xerophyte
A xerophyte (from Ancient Greek language, Greek ξηρός ''xeros'' 'dry' + φυτόν ''phuton'' 'plant') is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water, such as a desert such as the Sahara or pl ...
and that Bailey only saw the species in photographs. It is only known from specimens that "lack roots, female flowers, fruits and seeds".
The species was
formally described by
Alfred Cogniaux
Célestin Alfred Cogniaux (7 April 1841 – 15 April 1916) was a Belgian botanist. Amongst other plants, the genus '' Neocogniauxia'' of orchids is named after him.
In 1916 his enormous private herbarium was acquired by the National Botanic ...
in 1881, in the third volume of
Alphonse and
Casimir de Candolle
Anne Casimir Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (20 February 1836, Geneva – 3 October 1918, Chêne-Bougeries) was a Swiss botanist, the son of Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle.
Early life and education
He studied chemistry, physics and mathematic ...
's ''Monographiæ Phanerogamarum''.
''Cucurbita galeottii'' (ch'ako') is a wild form of squash with round or pear-shaped fruits similar to small bottle gourds, with a green skin and white/yellow stripes. Ch'ako is found along lowland roadsides of southern Mexico. The fruit is tough skinned and bitter, but the young greens are eaten boiled.
References
External links
Original description by Cogniaux, 1881
Squashes and pumpkins
Flora of Oaxaca
Plants described in 1881
galeottii
Taxa named by Alfred Cogniaux
{{Cucurbitales-stub