The Connecticut field pumpkin (''C. pepo)'' is a type of

pumpkin A pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and varieties in the genus '' Cucurbita'' that has culinary and cultural significance but no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning. The term ''pumpkin'' is sometimes u ...

. It is an

heirloom variety An heirloom plant, heirloom variety, heritage fruit (Australia and New Zealand), or heirloom vegetable (especially in Ireland and the UK) is an old cultivar of a plant used for food that is grown and maintained by gardeners and farmers, particular ...

, the "standard" and "classic" pumpkin, "one of the oldest pumpkins in existence". Widely used for

autumn Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( S ...

decorations, either whole or as

jack-o'-lantern A jack-o'-lantern (or jack o'lantern) is a carved lantern, most commonly made from a pumpkin or a root vegetable such as a rutabaga or turnip. Jack-o'-lanterns are associated with the Halloween holiday. Its name comes from the reported phenomen ...

s, it is also suitable for

culinary Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs ...

purposes. Said to differ little from

winter squash Winter squash is an annual fruit representing several squash species within the genus ''Cucurbita''. Late-growing, less symmetrical, odd-shaped, rough or warty varieties, small to medium in size, but with long-keeping qualities and hard rinds, ar ...

grown by Native Americans in

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...

times, the name "Connecticut field" references the area where the ancestral variety was found, as well as the traditional system of planting pumpkins in

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn ( North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. ...

fields. Like most pumpkins, the Connecticut field pumpkin is large (), round, and orange, with smooth, slightly ribbed skin. The "New England pie pumpkin", also known as the "small sugar pumpkin", which is smaller in size but considered to have superior cooking properties, is said to be taken from a strain of this cultivar. The Howden pumpkin is a strain selected from Connecticut field pumpkins for improved production and uniformity of fruits, and is described as "the original commercial jack-o’-lantern pumpkin".

References

{{Squashes and pumpkins Squashes and pumpkins Food plant cultivars