''Cucurbita ecuadorensis'' is a species of
squash, described in 1965 growing wild in
Ecuador.
Like most wild gourds and squashes, it is creeping vine and is often found climbing over other vegetation. It has been found only in the western provinces of
Guayas and
Manabí.
There is evidence that it was domesticated in Ecuador around 10,000 years ago, likely for its
seeds
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm pl ...
, but no direct records exist and it is no longer cultivated. It is resistant to many diseases of cultivated ''
Cucurbita'' species,
and has been used to breed resistance to several diseases into common squashes.
For example, researchers at
Cornell University used ''Cucurbita ecuadorensis'' to breed resistance to
papaya ringspot virus,
watermelon mosaic virus
''Watermelon mosaic virus'' (WMV) also known as Marrow mosaic virus (Raychaudhuri and Varma, 1975; Varma, 1988), Melon mosaic virus (Iwaki et al., 1984; Komuro, 1962), and until recently Watermelon mosaic virus type 2 (WMV-2), is a plant pathoge ...
, and
powdery mildew, into common ''
Cucurbita maxima
''Cucurbita maxima'', one of at least five species of cultivated squash, is one of the most diverse domesticated species. This species originated in South America from the wild subspecies ''Cucurbita maxima subsp. andreana'' over 4,000 years ago. ...
'' cultivars. ''Cucurbita ecuadorensis'' is listed on the
IUCN Red List as
vulnerable
Vulnerable may refer to:
General
* Vulnerability
* Vulnerability (computing)
* Vulnerable adult
* Vulnerable species
Music
Albums
* ''Vulnerable'' (Marvin Gaye album), 1997
* ''Vulnerable'' (Tricky album), 2003
* ''Vulnerable'' (The Used album) ...
,
and is found protected in the
Machalilla National Park.
References
External links
*
Preserved specimenat the
Field Museum of Natural History
The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educational ...
Squashes and pumpkins
Endemic flora of Ecuador
ecuadorensis
Plants described in 1969
{{Cucurbitales-stub