''Cucurbita ecuadorensis'' is a species of
squash
Squash may refer to:
Sports
* Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets
* Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling
* Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...
, described in 1965 growing wild in
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
.
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, but no direct records exist and it is no longer cultivated. It is resistant to many diseases of cultivated ''
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 ...
'' species,
and has been used to breed resistance to several diseases into common squashes.
For example, researchers at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
used ''Cucurbita ecuadorensis'' to breed resistance to
papaya ringspot virus
''Papaya ringspot virus'' (PRSV) is a pathogenic plant virus in the genus ''Potyvirus'' and the virus family ''Potyviridae'' which primarily infects the papaya tree.
The virus is a non-enveloped, flexuous rod-shaped particle that is between 760& ...
,
watermelon mosaic virus, and
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 ...
, into common ''
Cucurbita maxima'' cultivars. ''Cucurbita ecuadorensis'' is listed on the
IUCN Red List
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...
as
vulnerable,
and is found protected in the
Machalilla National Park
Machalilla National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Machalilla) is a preserve in the Ecuadorian Manabí Province near Puerto López and the rural parish of Machalilla, a small fishing village in the vicinity of the park.
Established in 1979, Machal ...
.
References
External links
*
Preserved specimenat the
Field Museum of Natural History
Squashes and pumpkins
Endemic flora of Ecuador
ecuadorensis
Plants described in 1969
{{Cucurbitales-stub