''Cucurbita lundelliana'' is a mesophyte 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 an ...
''. It is native to
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
,
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...
, and
Belize
Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wa ...
. It has not been domesticated. It is found in the Yucatán region near sea level among
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...
cliffs. In Guatemala it is found in Parque Nacional Yaxha Nakum Naranjo along Rio Ixtinto and near Laguna Julequito (west of west end of Lake Yaxha).
It has yellow-orange
corolla
Corolla may refer to:
*Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit
*Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name
*Corolla (headgear)
A ''corolla'' is an ancient headdress in the form of a small circlet or crown. Its leaves are slightly similar to those of '' Cucurbita ficifolia''. It is resistant to
powdery mildew
Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that affects a wide range of plants. Powdery mildew diseases are caused by many different species of ascomycete fungi in the order Erysiphales. Powdery mildew is one of the easier plant diseases to identify, a ...
and
crown rot
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
.
In 1962 the first successful cross of a wild ''Cucurbita'' with a domesticated ''Cucurbita'' occurred. In that study by Whitaker, ''C. lundelliana'' was mostly dominant in a cross with '' Cucurbita moschata''. The purpose of the study was to find the ancestral plant species of the domesticated ''Cucurbita''. ''C. lundelliana'' crosses rather well with the five cultivated species of ''Cucurbita''.
The species was formally described by
Liberty Hyde Bailey
Liberty Hyde Bailey (March 15, 1858 – December 25, 1954) was an American horticulturist and reformer of rural life. He was cofounder of the American Society for Horticultural Science.Makers of American Botany, Harry Baker Humphrey, Ronald Pres ...